Teenage Wasteland
by cherrybomb24
Summary: A canon based story with OC as Stiles' twin sister, who is a tomboy and had been one-of-the-boys (Stiles and Scott) until she realizes that she is growing up and falls for Derek. And may be she wants to be treated like a girl for once.### Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf characters or the plot ###
1. Teenage Wasteland 0

I don't need to fight

To prove I'm right

I don't need to be forgiven

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Don't cry

Don't raise your eye

It's only **teenage wasteland**

**(from the lyrics of 'Baba O'Riley' by The Who)**


	2. Teenage Wasteland 1

#1

Lacrosse stick, _check_.

Goggles, _check_.

Mouth guard, _check._

Shoes, _check_.

Books, _check_.

Binders and papers, _check_.

Pencil case, _check_.

Wallet, _check_.

The stereo was blaring and Anelie was singing along to Kurt Cobain as she got ready for school. She shoved everything into the black Hershel backpack, threw the lacrosse stick on top and she was done. Wondering what to do with the last hours of school holiday, her eyes drifted around her room and she caught her own reflection on the mirror. She looked critically at her body up and down. To her dismay, her body seemed to continue developing curves. In her pre-teen years, when some of her classmates were beginning to brag about changing from training bra into a bra, Anelie was happy wearing a training bra or sports bra. In fact, when she first noticed the change, she had bandaged her chest as she didn't know how to talk to her dad about these _girl_-things. Besides she didn't want Stiles or Scott to find out about it. She thought that they would stop treating her as one-of-the-boys. It was only when Melissa noticed the bandage and took young Amelie on a secret trip to the mall that she started wearing a bra. She didn't want to wear them at first, but it was way easier to put on than the bandage and for the first few days, she avoided wearing a white shirt because she was afraid of the boys finding out about it. Thankfully, they never did, or if they did, they didn't make a big deal out of it. She continued to be one-of-the-boys.

She hated the way her body was developing curves; as her body continued to change, she was constantly reminded that she was a _girl_. For her, it meant that she wasn't one of _them _– the boys were her best friends and it scared her. She frowned at her cleavage and was just about to put on her oversized football t-shirt when Stiles suddenly stormed into her room.

"Elie! Get ready! There's a dead girl in the woods!"

"Jeeeezus, Stiles! Knock! I've told you million times! Knock before you barge in!"

Anelie screamed as she quickly pulled the t-shirt over her head and covered herself up. She had only been wearing her underwear but to her relief, Stiles didn't seem to notice. His eyes were shining bright from excitement as he rambled on about a dead girl.

"Wha- wait…what? A dead girl?"

"Yup. It gets better…they've only found half of her."

"…half?"

"So, we're going to find the other half. Me, you, and Scott. So get ready."

"A dead girl"

"Yup"

"In the woods"

"Yup. Chop, chop! Put your clothes on!" Stiles was starting to lose his patience.

"Gross!"

"Neat, huh?"

"What? No!"

"So you're not coming?"

"…..just give me five seconds."

The news of a dead girl, a half of a dead girl, did not excite Anelie but she didn't like being left out and it seemed like this was going to be big and the boys would be talking about it for days, even weeks so she hurriedly pulled up her jeans, grabbed her jacket and sneakers and ran after Stiles and got into his Jeep.

"Are we seriously doing this?" Like Anelie, Scott didn't share Stiles' enthusiasm in this late night corpse-hunting.

"You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town." Stiles shot back as he led them into the woods. As Anelie followed the boys into Beacon Hills Preserve, she felt uneasy. The darkness seemed more menacing than usual.

"And uh, what if whoever killed her is still out there?" Scott's question, which Stiles just brushed off, made her more uneasy. She couldn't figure out what, but something felt wrong…she didn't want to say anything to the boys because she didn't want them to think that she was scared – like a girl, a girly girl. So she ignored the feeling, tried to shake it off and followed the boys further into the woods. As they climbed up a hill, Scott seemed out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Anelie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Scott smiled, took out an inhaler from his pocket and began shaking it when Stiles suddenly dropped on his stomach. Scott and Anelie quickly followed and lay flat. Anelie elbowed Stiles and frantically whispered 'Flash light! Flash light!' They could see multiple flash lights scanning the woods few meters ahead and heard the dogs barking. _Shit! They are going to find us!_ Anelie was about to tell Stiles to stay put, when he suddenly jumped up and ran.

"STILES!" In panic, Scott and Anelie followed Stiles but just when they were about to catch up with him, they heard a dog bark close by and saw a flash light shine directly into Stiles' face so they stopped running and they both hid behind a tree. The uneasy feeling returned as Anelie held her breath, she felt drops of cold water on her face_._ Scott was pulling his hood up. _Great, it's raining._ She was groaning inside when she heard a familiar voice that came as a relief.

"Hang on, hang on...this little delinquent belongs to me."

It was her dad. She knew he wouldn't be too happy to see them in the woods, but she felt safe when she heard his voice.

"Dad, how are you doing?"

"So do you listen into all my phone calls?"

"Noooo….not the boring ones."

"Where's your usual partners in crime?"

"Scott and Elie? They're home. Scott said he wanted to get a good night sleep for the first day back in school tomorrow…and Elie was watching a movie. It's just me, in the woods, alone."

Since Stiles had lied to protect her, she could have pretended not to be there, but she couldn't. She didn't want to stay in the woods anymore. So when her dad called her name out, she got out of her hiding place. Meekly smiling, she ran towards Stiles and her dad, and it seemed like Scott was going to pretend that he wasn't there so she repeated what Stiles had said.

"Just me, dad. Me and Stiles" and Anelie hugged her brother's arm and gave her dad the biggest smile. The Sheriff sighed and he grabbed Stiles' collar to drag him back to his car.

"Well young man, I'm going to walk you back to your car. You too, princess." Anelie hated being called that but she let it slide since she didn't want to upset her dad further. As she followed her father and brother who were discussing something about the invasion of privacy, she kept looking back, hoping that Scott would turn up or at least follow them from distance. She strained her ears for his footsteps but there was only the eerie silence.

"We can't leave him in the woods!" Anelie cried out as Stiles turned the ignition.

"Well, he's not answering his phone!" Stiles frustratingly answered. The uneasiness she felt was growing even though she was safe in Stiles' car.

"We have to go back…"

"Back where? He could be anywhere!" Stiles seemed puzzled at her concern and continued to reason with her. "Besides, we've always played in the area and nothing ever happened."

"Yeah, well, that was before a girl turned up dead with a half of her body missing."

Anelie slumped into the seat and crossed her arms. She knew Beacon Hills Preserve was safe. Well, it had been up to this point anyway. But the nervousness she felt in the woods tonight was bugging her and she didn't like feeling scared so she was starting to get angry. Out of frustration, she punched her brother in the arm, who yelled out in pain and was nonplussed by his agitated twin sister. She remembered someone telling her how twins are connected emotionally so they can feel what the other was feeling, a special connection or something_. Special connection, my ass!_ Anelie muttered under her breath and she ignored Stiles who kept asking what was wrong with her. She didn't know why or what she was scared of. Scott's house wasn't too far, it wasn't like he couldn't walk home or anything, and usually she didn't worry about ditching Scott…in fact, she would have just laughed at his misfortune, knowing that Scott would be annoyed, but it was no big deal. It wasn't like they were little kids, or Beacon Hills was a dangerous place with criminals creeping around the dark – and that's when she remembered what Scott had said earlier.

_And uh, what if whoever killed her is still out there?_

"What if the killer's out there?" Anelie asked and Stiles suddenly hit the break.

"Well, we can't go back…the police are crawling all over the place." Anelie's nervousness seemed to have rubbed off on Stiles as he began to look concerned and flailing his arms. _Beep beeeeep beep beeeep!_They both jumped at the sound of Stiles' phone buzzing. He looked at his phone and the look of relief came over his face, and he showed the text to his sister.

[You guys ditched me! ] It was from Scott.

[Sorry dude, but at least you didn't get in trouble! You're home sleeping remember?]

"Are we picking him up?" Anelie asked as her brother put his phone down and started driving.

"Nah, he said he can just jog home. We're nearly home anyway."

"Oh…okay."

Anelie still felt a little uneasy, but knowing that Scott was okay and his phone was working, and he was probably jogging along the main road was somewhat comforting. She wondered why she was feeling this way and it nagged at her even when she got home and was in her bed, so she texted Scott again. Just to make sure that he was really okay. She lay awake in her bed holding on to her phone and when the text finally came from Scott, the uneasiness she had felt during the night lifted.

[I'm home. The sheriff didn't catch me. Though something's happened in the woods. Will tell you guys everything tomorrow. Good night.]

She was too tired to wonder what 'something' was and as she was drifting off to sleep, she thought she heard howling from afar.

**Well, here's the first chapter! I know it's real slow paced but be patient with me! I would love to hear from the readers so please drop me a line. I'm still looking for those who are interested in joining the storyline as Elie's friends (or having your OC join) so if you are interested, send me a message!**


	3. Teenage Wasteland 2

#2

"Let's see this thing!"

"…that's a massive bandage… How bad is it?" Anelie asked Scott who flinched at Stiles' touch.

"Ow!...not too bad, I think. It was too dark to see anything but I'm pretty sure it was a wolf"

"A wolf?!"

"A wolf bit ya…?"

"Uh huh"

"No, not a chance"

"I heard the wolf howling"

"I think I heard it too" said Anelie, remembering the cries she had heard the night before.

"No you didn't"

Stiles was adamant that whatever was howling, and took a bite at Scott was not a wolf.

"What do you mean, no I didn't. I know what I heard"

"Because California doesn't have wolves, okay? In like six years."

"Really?"

Anelie began to doubt herself and even Scott seemed pretty uncertain…and _he_ was the one with the scar.

"Yes, really, there are no wolves in California"

"Alright, Mr. Wikipedia, then what did _that_ to Scott?" When Anelie challenged Stiles, he just shrugged and muttered that there were no wolves in California. The conversation took a turn when Scott revealed another piece of big news.

"Well, if you don't believe me about the wolf then…you're definitely not gonna believe me when I tell you… I… found the body."

" #$%! Are you kidding me?!" Stiles jumped up in excitement at the mention of 'the body' while unlike her brother, Anelie had had enough with the dead girl so she rolled her eyes and sighed. Scott laughed at Anelie's reaction and sheepishly admitted that he was freaked out by the body.

"No, I wish. I'm gonna have nightmares for months"

"That is freakin' awesome! I mean this is seriously going to be the best thing that's happened to this town!" Ignoring his sister's lack of enthusiasm and Scott's plight at the prospect of weeks of nightmares, Stiles was acting as if it was Christmas. And then as Lydia walked by, his attention switched to the pretty strawberry blond that has been ignoring him from day one.

Shaking her head at her brother, who was grumbling about being a nerd-by-association to Scott, Anelie waved goodbye to the boys and headed towards her class. _Ugh, first day back and the first class is chemistry, with none other than Harris. I hate Mondays._ She gloomily walked into the classroom to find her friend Jessie slumped over the desk.

"Morning, sunshine!" Instead of a reply Jessie just grunted, making Anelie chuckle. When Jessie did look up, she had her usual don't-be-perky-at-me-or-else face on. Anelie guessed that her friend had stayed up late watching movie or something because that was her morning face. Jessie was one of the very few girlfriends Anelie had, and since she hated chemistry AND Harris, Jessie was the only thing stopping her from skipping class. As Anelie sat down next to Jessie, she heard kids sitting behind her gossiping about the dead girl. In this town, news sure gets around fast, Anelie thought and glanced at her friend who seemed uninterested. The gossiping stopped immediately when Harris walked into class.

If her brother was a nerd by association because of Scott, _she_ was picked on by association from Harris because of her brother. She was sure of it because she couldn't think of one good reason why the four-eyed cold blooded chemistry teacher hated her. She wasn't a perfect A student, especially in chemistry, but she wasn't failing either and she kept to herself. Yet Harris picked on her at every given opportunity. His pale skin and cold eyes reminded her of a vampire. _Not the sexy ones like you see in the movies but the…uh….non-sexy vampires_. Harris immediately noticed that Anelie wasn't paying attention and made some snarly comment, to which she just grumbled a half-hearted apology. _I really hate Mondays_.

During the course of the day, the topic-of-the-day quickly shifted from the dead girl in the woods to the new girl, who was suddenly Lydia Martin's new best friend. Her name was something like Alice…Alissa? Something like that. Everyone seemed fascinated by the pretty new girl who was able to strike up a friendship with Lydia and co. Even the girls on the lacrosse team were gossiping about the new girl who was sitting with Lydia and watching the boys practice. Scott was not in his usual place, which is beside her brother on the bench, but Finstock had pulled Scott aside, telling him something and by the looks of it, he was being asked to be the goalie. He was determined to make the first line this year so Anelie guessed this was his big chance to impress Finstock and the team. It wasn't that Scott was bad at lacrosse…it was just that compared to other boys on the team, like Jackson or Danny, Scott lacked the speed and the power. But, hey, like Stiles said, _if you're going to dream, might as well dream big._

"Stilinski! Pay attention!" Anelie flinched and quickly turned around and tried to concentrate on her practice, hoping that Scott would do okay. She had originally wanted to play for the boys' team, not because she thought the girls team sucked or anything. It was just that she wanted to be on the same team as her brother and Scott. When she asked Finstock, he looked at her as if she was crazy. He laughed, and then got all sarcastic about it. But the fact was, she was better than her brother or Scott. So her initial plan was to play for the girls' team and really excel at the game so that Finstock would come crawling back, begging for her to play for his team. That was the initial plan but having played for the girls' team, she had no intension of switching to boys' team. Finstock would have never in million years recruited her anyways.

Not being able to play with her brother or Scott was kind of sad, because she thought they would grow apart, but they still practiced together in their free time and things between them didn't change much. It wasn't like she or the boys were taking on a new different sports. Anelie was trying to come to terms with the fact that she was a girl, and they were boys and they can't always be together like when they were five or something. They were growing up.

Anelie, and the rest of the girls' lacrosse team was suddenly disrupted by the loud cheer from the other side of the field. Anelie was sure she heard her brother scream in excitement and yell out "That's my friend!" The commotion was so loud that all the girls stopped to look, and even their coach was staring at the boys' side.

"What's happening?" Anelie asked the girl who had been facing towards the boys the whole time but instead of an answer, she got a question.

"Who's that new kid?"

Anelie looked at the person she was pointing at and answered

"That's Scott. He's not new… he was just always in the bench with my brother."

"He's amazing"

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Scott.

"He is?"

"Yeah, Jackson better watch it"

"That good?!"

"Uh, huh…even Lydia was cheering him on"

"I guess all that chin-ups he does in his room is finally paying off….?"

Despite knowing Scott better than anyone else, Anelie was puzzled at his sudden improvement. Perhaps, more because she _knew _him. She was happy to see him doing well but something wasn't right. He didn't show any new incredible skills when they were practicing the other day_ so what was going on?_

"I don't, I don't know what it was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball…" Scott was trying to explain to the twins about the lacrosse practice. Stiles didn't seem too bothered about Scott's sudden skills but something was nagging at Anelie.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know….I don't know why but it was easy." Scott seemed as confused as she was, and he continued to describe his condition.

"AND that's not the only weird thing…I can…hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear… and smell things!"

"Smell things…like what?" asked Stiles.

"Elie had a hazelnut macchiato today…and she spilt a bit on her jeans."

"uh…it was like only a drop. How did you know?" Anelie sniffed but couldn't figure out how Scott knew about the spill because she did not smell like a hazelnut macchiato, all she could smell was the deodorant she put on after the practice.

"Dude, that's what she drinks _all _the time…" Stiles seemed unimpressed.

"AND Like mint mojito gum in your pocket" said Scott with a straight face.

"I haven't been having mint mojito gum in like…" Stiles stopped mid-sentence, as he rummaged through his pocket and found a lint covered gum. Stiles and Anelie looked at each other. _Weird._

"Soo… all this started with the bite"

"What if it's like an infection. Like, my body is flooding with adrenalin before I go into shock or something." Scott seemed really concerned.

"If whatever bit you had rabies or something…then you'd be frothing at the mouth or something right? I mean you don't have a fever do you?" Anelie touched Scott's forehead while touching her own with her other hand to compare their temperature.

"No…I'm fine. Except… my senses are all wired wrong or something" Scott looked confused.

"You know what, I think I've actually heard of this…This specific kind of infection…" suddenly Stiles got serious, which seemed to make Scott more nervous.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I think it's called….lycanthropy."

"What's that? Is that bad?"

_Oh for f #$s sakes!_ Anelie rolled her eyes, but Scott didn't get it. _He really needs to read more_, thought Anelie but she didn't say it out loud because she was starting to feel sorry for Scott, who seemed worried…_and besides how do you explain the gum? Okay so you might have just guessed the macchiato but the gum in Stiles' pocket?_

"Oh yeah, it's the worst…but only once a month."

"Once a month?"

"Uh, huh, on the night of the full moon. Arrooooooooghhh!"

"Get outta here" Finally getting the werewolf joke, Scott shoved Stiles and walked off.

"Hey you're the one who heard a wolf howling"

"There could be something seriously wrong with me"

"I know! You're a werewolf! Arrrrggggghhhhhhh!"

"Stiles!" Feeling sorry for Scott, Anelie elbowed her brother. He never knew when to stop.

"Ok, obviously I'm kidding!"

"But, if you see me in shop class trying to melt all the silver I can find, it's 'cause Friday's a full moon" Elbowing didn't seem to work so Anelie punched him in the arm.

Being used to Stiles' antics, Scott ignored his annoying friend and looked down, with a puzzled look on his face.

"No….I, I could have sworn this was it…I saw the body, the deer came running, I dropped my inhaler…" Scott knelt down and started rummaging around the leaves.

"How do you know this is the right place? You said it was dark…and you know what? All the trees look the same!" Anelie looked around. She was starting to feel uneasy again. _God, what the hell is wrong with me? It's not even dark!_

And then her brother said something that sent a chill down her spine.

"May be the killer moved the body."

"If he did, I hope he left my inhaler…it's usually like eighty bucks."

"Seriously? You're worried about your stupid inhaler?" Something was wrong...and that's when she saw _him_.

"Oh!" Stiles noticed him too and as soon as he did, he tapped Scott's shoulder who quickly stood up.

"What are you doing here?"

A guy in black leather jacket walked towards them and demanded an answer.

"Huh? This is private property." He wasn't shouting but he wasn't friendly or inviting either. His demeanour said 'stay away or else' so Anelie apologized.

"Sorry"

"Huh…sorry man, we didn't know." Stiles, who was starting to look really uncomfortable, quickly apologized too.

"Yeah, we were just…looking for something…but….uh, forget it." For some reason, Scott was staring straight at the guy, which was unusual because Scott hated confrontation. The guy reached into his pocket without taking his eyes off Scott and threw something at him. It was Scott's eighty-something dollar inhaler. Without giving them an explanation about the inhaler, he turned around and walked off into the woods.

"Right, now I have to get to work."

"Dude! That was Derek Hale! You…you remember right? He's only like few years older than us"

"Remember what?"

"_THE_ Derek Hale?" Unlike Scott, Anelie remembered the name and the incident, because her father had sat the twins down and gave them a lecture about why they weren't allowed to play with fire. She also remembered that only Derek and his sister who had been away had survived the fire that killed the rest of the family. Things like that almost never happened in Beacon Hills…so most people were familiar with the name Hale and the tragic incident. But Scott continued to look puzzled, so Stiles went on. "His family?! They all burned to death in a fire like ten years ago."

"I wonder what he's doing back" Scott's question hung in the air, as they headed out of the woods.

As she walked along the woods, she wondered if it was Derek that made her uneasy in the woods the other night. May be he was watching them the whole time (how else could he know about the inhaler?). But the thing was, Derek seemed threatening …but he didn't feel like a _threat_. His intense stare made her uncomfortable…but the feeling that she got from the woods last night was….more than discomfort…it was fear.

_A dead girl in the woods,_

_Scott's new condition,_

_A new girl at the school,_

_The return of Derek Hale, _

Beacon Hills seem to be stirring up. She hated change…may be she was overreacting, but things _were_ changing. Ever since her mother died, Anelie resented change. All she knows is that she was perfectly happy, until she lost her mother and everything just changed. Their house felt empty and quite without her. The warm sweet air that had filled the kitchen was gone, the faint fragrance of her mother's perfume was gone and it seemed that with the loss of Claudia Stilinski, the light had faded from the Stilinski house. The sheriff tried very hard to pick up the pieces and raise the twins without the support of his beloved wife and life went on for the living, but it wasn't the same anymore. Nothing was. There were good days and then there were bad, but every day she thought of her mother and she knew both her brother and her father did too.

She couldn't shake off the feeling that something was looming around the corner. Like something really bad was going to happen…_GOD, I really hate Mondays_.

**Thank you for reading, reviewing, following the story, you lovely people! :)**

**Also, special thanks to those who suggested OC as Elie's friends! I promise they will become more important in Elie's life as the story progresses…**

**I really appreciate it all, since I'd been expecting sticks and stones after uploading the story so I'm overjoyed by all your reactions. Again, apologies for dragging this on…once Scott turns, things should pick up…in the meantime, I'm thinking of starting drabbles too and I'm open to suggestions (though I can't promise I will write them ****_all _****but if I get one that I like or think I can write I will so, I'll be waiting to hear from you!)**


	4. Teenage Wasteland 3

#3

"Hey, Elie!" A girl with blond hair, emerald green eyes, and big smile on her face ran up to Anelie, who was rummaging through her locker. As she closed her locker door, the girl tripped over air and fell into Anelie's arms.

"Whoa…watch it, Hannah!"

"Thanks…so, are you going to Lydia's party?" asked Hannah, tucking strands of her delicate blond hair behind her ear.

"No, I'd rather stay home and listen to music _I like_ and drink the drinks _I like_ and hang around people that I actually _like_. It's Friday night, I should be enjoying myself! …Why? Are you going?"

"May be, I don't know. I heard from Stiles in English that him and Scott were going, so I kinda assumed you would too." When she heard the name Scott, it stung a little.

"I have no desire to watch Lydia make out with Jackson, drink overly sweet alcoholic beverage and listen to some lame pop songs especially on a Friday night…and…oh wait I got a text…" Anelie took her phone out and checked the message, which happened to be from one of the waitress at her part-time job asking if Anelie could take over her shift tomorrow. _She_ wanted to attend Lydia's party. I guess everyone who is anyone is going. And even Stiles was planning to attend. With a sigh, she sent a quick reply, shoved the phone back into her pocket.

"I guess I won't be enjoying myself on Friday after all."

"So you're going to the party?"

"Nooo… silly, I have to work down at the diner!"

Anelie was kind of glad that she now had an official excuse to not go to the party, if Stiles or Scott asked. That is, _if _they asked. It seemed that Scott had fallen head over heels for Allison, the new girl, and apparently, going to the party with her was his number one priority at the moment. As for Stiles, he probably assumed that she would tag along. _Well, not this time_. Usually, if Stiles and Scott were going, Anelie would have followed them to the party, as Hannah had assumed. At the party, they'd drink, stand around the wall, bitching about random things and it wouldn't be too bad. The presence of the boys would have made even Lydia's party bearable. _But not this time_.

All through the week, both Stiles and Scott were being weird. Stiles being weird was nothing new, but he was holed up in his room, obsessively looking though books and websites. His floor was covered with books and papers he printed off. When she picked up a sheet of paper at random, it was a gothic image of what looked like a werewolf. She didn't ask and quietly left the room. And let Stiles be. As for Scott, he was like a different person. He was doing extremely well in lacrosse, and he was also doing quite well with Allison. To Anelie, it felt like Scott was slipping away. It wasn't jealousy. She was happy that he found someone. Unlike Lydia, Allison seemed _nice_ and she seemed to be paying Scott the attention he deserves. The fact that he was busy with his own life made her a little sad. She felt like she wasn't part of his world anymore…and that she was being gently pushed away. She knew this would happen eventually when they started dating or went off to college. Stiles was her brother so she didn't worry about losing him but with Scott, it was different. She had to hold on a little stronger and it kind of depended on him holding on too.

* * *

When Anelie got home from school on Friday, she noticed Scott's bike and she assumed that the boys were getting ready for the party or something. As she walked through the front door, she ran into Scott, who seemed out of breath and confused. He had the same expression he had on the day after the incident in the woods, but more tense.

"Whoa, are you okay?"

"Yeah, um…sorry" with a mumbled apology, Scott hurried out the door without explaining anything. So she ran up the stairs and stormed into Stiles' room. Stiles was just picking up his chair.

"What just happened?"

"…I don't know"

"Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"Wha- noooo…"

"You pissed him off with this werewolf crap right?"

"…."

"Give him a break, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"I'm serious, Stiles."

"Yeah, I know, I got it."

"…well anyways, I gotta go so don't forget to lock the door when you leave for Lydia's party."

"Ok...what? You're not going to the party?"

"No. I've got work."

"But it's Friday. You don't have a shift on Friday."

"No…but I picked one up as a favour."

"Oh…uh…..okay, it's for the best, I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah…nothing, nothing! Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for work?" said Stiles as he pushed his sister gently out of the room and closed the door on her face. He didn't know whether to tell her about the whole werewolf situation or not. He was now pretty certain about Scott being a werewolf, _I mean look at the chair, _he thought, but he wasn't sure if he wanted his sister involved in all this. If Scott really turned to a wolf and went on rampage, which he was sure of, he wanted his sister far away from Scott. Scott had shoved him against the wall and nearly punched him in the face, and that has never happened before. _It was probably the full moon_. He hoped it was the full moon. He was a little shaken up by Scott's outburst but shrugged it off and got ready for the party.

On the other side of the door, Anelie didn't know how to react. _It's for the best?_ What did he mean by that? _That she'd be a third wheel?_ Get in the way of Scott and Allison? So if Scott starts dating her, and it seemed like it was going to happen, she has to stay away from them? Stiles would be hanging around Scott, who would be hanging around with Allison, who hangs around Lydia. And where would Anelie fit in? She didn't. _I could_, she thought, _I mean I don't hate Lydia, I just don't get her, and Allison seems nice_. But Jackson was a different story. Every time she saw him, she felt the urge to punch him in the face. _Oh, god, it's happening_. _They are falling apart._ She thought and she suddenly felt like she was having a panic attack. She couldn't breathe, she felt light-headed, and her fingers were numb. She kept repeating to herself that she was overacting, and that it's going to be okay. She repeated the phrase over and over as if in a prayer.

* * *

"Elie! Hey!Anelie!"

"…..….hmmm?"

"Order's up!"

"Oh…sorry" she quickly apologised and picked up the plates of food and hurried to the table. Just when she was about to return to the counter, someone called out and when she turned around, she saw Derek Hale sitting in the corner, and her heart missed a beat.

"Can I have a refill?" said Derek as he held up his cup.

"Um…Sure," She quickly grabbed the coffee pot and as she filled up his cup, she concentrated on pouring the coffee because her hand was slightly shaking, and wondered why the hell her heart was beating so fast.

"So you work here every Friday?" he asked casually, with a faint smile on his face. His attitude and demeanour was completely different from the other day and it caught her off guard. But something about his smile bothered Anelie. She knew that _look_. Because she often used similar smile at some of the more annoying customers at the diner; smiling with lips but not with her eyes. It was one of those _I'm-being-polite-to-you-because-I-have-to-not-because-I-want-to_ smile.

"Um…no….uh….you need anything else?"

Derek gave her a quick smile again, and told her that he was fine so she turned around and walked off to tend to other customers. He sat quietly in the corner drinking coffee while Anelie tried very hard not to stare at him too much while she worked.

"So, who's the tall, dark mysterious stranger?" asked Sandy, nudging Anelie with her elbow.

"What?" pretending not to understand, Anelie played dumb and continued to clean the glasses.

"The guy in table 6." Sandy rolled her eyes and glanced at Derek.

"Um…it's Derek Hale." Anelie tried not to look in his direction.

"The name rings a bell…"

Anelie didn't want to gossip about the fire in the presence of Derek, so she shrugged and pretended to be busy and kept cleaning the glasses. She was relieved when Sandy was called away by the chef who was yelling that the order was up.

"Coming, coming! Sheeesh!" Sandy yelled back. Throwing her hands up, she hurried back towards the kitchen. After she left, Anelie glanced at Derek and she nearly dropped the glass, when she realised that he had been staring at her. She quickly turned away, which she immediately regretted. _God, I feel so stupid_. She was glad when strings of customers entered the diner, so she could stop pretending to be busy and actually _be_ busy. The peak hour was approaching at the diner so the customers continued to roll in and soon, both Anelie and Sandy were running to and fro frantically, taking orders, carrying plates of food, drinks, and filling up the empty cups.

* * *

Hours later, when things finally quietened down and Anelie was clearing the tables, she glanced at the table 6, where an old man was now sipping his coffee. She had actually been really busy that she didn't even notice Derek leaving. She felt a little disappointed that he'd left without saying goodbye but then she felt stupid for thinking that. They were practically strangers_. I mean, he doesn't even know my name!_ There was no reason for him to say goodbye to her and she felt silly for being so flustered in his presence. _He probably thinks I'm stupid….God!? Why do I care what he thinks?_

When her shift was over, Anelie grabbed her tips and was just about to leave when Sandy came up to her with a huge grin on her face, and handed her a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Anelie asked, staring down at the slightly crumpled piece of what looked like a receipt, and Sandy shrieked, "It's from Derek." At the mention of his name, Anelie's heart started fluttering again and she looked closely at the paper. On the bottom he'd scribbled a set of numbers…and it dawned on her that it was his phone number. In shock, she looked up at Sandy who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"What do I do?! What do I do?!"

"Call him! He was hot!"

"What? He's like….twenty something."

"So?"

"I'm sixteen"

"Who cares? He's HOT!"

"_I DO_! Why would he give me his number? I'm only sixteen!"

"May be he's into young girls."

"Gross! You make him sound like a perv!"

"Aw, come on! Even if he was, he's hot! Live a little!" Sandy winked at Anelie and slapped her back.

Not knowing what to do, she shoved the receipt into her pocket, got on her bike and headed home. The whole ride home, she was wondering why on earth Derek had given her his number. She was sure she wasn't his type so she kept wondering what his motive was. _What did he want from me?_ When she got home, she walked into her room and just fell onto her bed. She took out the piece of paper and stared at it for a while. There was no message like '_call me'_ or anything. Just his phone number. Most girls would call him back, she thought. Sandy would definitely call. But then, what? She wanted someone to talk to but somehow she didn't want to tell the boys, so she grabbed her phone and flicked through contacts until she found Jessie's name but stopped herself from calling her when she remembered something about spending the night with her Dad or something. Not wanting to disturb her friend, she threw down the phone and Anelie screamed into her pillow out of frustration.

* * *

**Sorry to cut off here and leave you hanging…but I thought it was getting too long. Thank you soooo much for the reviews, favourites, and follows! Much appreciate it! It's what keeps me going… ****_BUT_**** unfortunately, I won't be able to upload anything over the weekend due to school work, sorry! Gotta finish this over the weekend or I get into serious trouble. **

**Anyways, let me know what you think readers! **

**PS The diner Elie works at is called The Breakfast Club and if you want to get the idea as to what it looks like, check out my tumblr page! :) **


	5. Teenage Wasteland 4

#4

"So what's up with you and the boys?"

"…what do you mean?" Elie knew exactly what Jessie was talking about, but she pretended to not understand and kept stuffing the carrot sticks into her mouth.

"Why aren't you with them? It's not that I don't enjoy your company, but you've been smothering me these past few days." Jessie ignored Elie's clueless expression and pressed her for an answer.

"….." Elie continued to chew and kept stabbing her food with her fork.

"Did you guys fight?"

"…..No"

"Then what's wrong? You look kinda depressed and that makes me depressed too…..soooo spill," said Jessie, as she took a sip of Dr. Pepper. Elie hesitated for a moment and reluctantly began to talk.

"They've been weird lately," when Elie saw Jessie raise her eyebrow, she added, "Well, _weirder _than usual. They won't tell me what it is, but whenever I get close to them they change the subject…and they keep coming up with various lame excuses not to include me in whatever it is they're doing…I mean even with Lydia's party…I wasn't going to go anyway, but Stiles told me that it's for the best that I didn't go. It's like…I don't know…..they don't want me around anymore."

"Well, maybe it's some boy-thing. Like, you didn't want to tell them about the bra, remember?"

"What boy-thing?"

"Dunno….but look. You guys are best-friends, right? They probably have a good reason for keeping you in the dark."

Elie hoped Jessie was right, but what reason could they possibly have? She knew it wasn't to do with Allison, because she had gotten to know Scott's new crush during French class. Unlike Lydia, she was quiet, polite and likeable; she had even invited Elie to come shopping with Lydia, which Elie politely declined. No, Allison wasn't the problem.

"So, about this Derek," when Jessie brought up that name, Elie nearly choked on her food. Elie hurriedly grabbed her water and gulped it down, while Jessie was chuckling at her.

"What about him?"

"Did you call him?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"I'm sixteen."

"You keep saying that but you know… if you guys were in Maine, it would be completely legal."

"How could you possibly know that? Is that true? I mean, did you actually look it up?"

"Yup. Isn't it absurd that where you live decides who you are allowed to date? California is one of the strictest states I'm afraid, so if you don't want to get him arrested, you guys'll have to be very hush hush."

"Jessie! There's nothing going on between me and Derek!"

"Why did he give you his number, then?"

"I…..I…..I don't know"

"You like him don't you?"

"I…I don't know."

Jessie seemed amused by all this but Elie was just confused. She was confused as to why he gave her his phone number, and she was also confused about her own reaction towards him. Ever since that night at the diner, all she's been thinking is about Derek, besides Stiles and Scott being distant.

"Just give him a call and ask, you idiot." Jessie said as a matter-of-factly. Elie knew her friend was right. The only way to find out is by asking him directly.

* * *

At home, Elie was doing homework on her bed while listening to _The Downward Spiral_ on endless repeat, to drown out her problems. She tried but when the song 'Closer' came on for the fourth time, she threw down her books, turned off the music and gave up. S

he walked over to her dresser, grabbed her wooden music box and returned to her bed. It was a birthday present from Stiles when they turned thirteen. After making sure that her door was closed, she opened the box. When she lifted up the lid, it played _Imagine_. Inside the box were random trinkets such as a necklace with initial 'A' that she got from her father when she turned twelve, a pearl pendant that belonged to her grandmother, a ring with a small garnet stone which had belonged to her mother, a ticket stub from her first ever rock concert…and a folded up piece of paper.

She took out the paper and closed the music box. Taking a deep breath, she typed in the numbers on her phone…but she couldn't bring herself to press the 'call' button. What would she say? _Hi, this is me from the diner, you also saw me in the woods the other day…but can you tell me why you gave me your number? _

"God, that sounds so stupid, even in my head." Elie grumbled and she just saved the number on her phone, crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it into the bin. She decided to sleep on it and call him some other time, _when_ she figures out something to say, without sounding too stupid. Just thinking about him made her heart beat faster.

* * *

So when she heard from Stiles about the Sheriff's plan to arrest Derek that day in the morning, she was so shocked that she nearly choked on her cereal.

"WHAT?!"

"He killed her and then buried her in his place," said Stiles while munching on his cereal.

"How the hell did you and Scott find out about it?" Elie couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"We just found the body…" not wanting to make eye contact with his sister, Stiles concentrated on eating his breakfast.

"What do you mean you found it…it was buried so how did you….I mean, is this what you've been up to all this time?! Being all secretive and going around behind my back?"

"We aren't being secretive! And we did not go around behind your back."

"Oh, really? Because you guys have been lying and keeping this from me this whole time!" Elie was starting to lose her temper. She was angry. She was angry that they kept something as big as this a secret. They had gone looking for the corpse together, so she didn't understand why they suddenly decided to keep her out of it. And then there was Derek.

"How do you know it's him?"

"Seriously? The body was buried in his property. Also, he was gone for… like, six years, and suddenly he turns up and so does the dead girl! It seems pretty obvious don't you think?"

"No. It all sounds like circumstantial evidence."

"But who else is there? You saw the guy!"

"He was nice, when people weren't messing around in his property."

"Derek, nice? Sis, those two words don't go togeth….hang, on? When did you see Derek?"

"…nowhere." Elie lied.

"You're lying. I can tell you're lying. We're twins, remember?"

"You have your secrets, I have mine" and with that Elie stood up, cleared her bowl and left the kitchen. Stiles was shouting something but she didn't care.

#

She stormed out of the house, grabbed her bike and rode off. She was angry and confused. She couldn't believe that Derek was capable of murder, and she couldn't believe that the boys had kept the news from her all along.

Then her phone rang. It was 'Hey Jude' which meant that the caller was Stiles, so she ignored it. Shortly after Hey Jude, it was Blink-182's 'Dammit.' She was angry at Scott too, so she ignored his call and she just turned the power off. In fact, she didn't feel like going to school. _Stuff this. I'm not in the mood to be at school. I don't want to see or talk to anyone._ AND _I need a drink._ And with that she headed to Sandy's apartment. She knew Sandy would be home, as she often skipped the morning lectures at the local college.

Elie ran up the apartment stairs and when she got to room 203, she immediately started banging on Sandy's door and she tried calling on her mobile phone, but it went straight to the voicemail. 'Come on, Sandy…' Elie knocked on the door again and even called out to her several times. She was about to give up and leave when Sandy looking hung over, opened the door.

"You bitch, what time do you think this is?"

"Oh, Sandy! I'm really, really, sorry but I need that tequila!" She gently pushed passed Sandy and walked into her apartment.

"Huh?!" Bleary eyed Sandy looked confused by the way Elie was behaving.

"Will explain later, you still have that bottle I left last time I was here, right?" Heading straight for the kitchen which was covered with food containers, dirty dishes and cups, Elie rummaged through cupboards looking for the tequila bottle.

"Uh…yes?"

"Got it! Thanks! I'll see you at work then! Love you!" Elie shoved the bottle in her school bag, kissed Sandy on the cheek and ran out of the apartment. Back on her bike, she rode off towards the woods to the secret place she and the boys used as a hide out since they were seven.

* * *

When she got to the secret place, took out her tequila bottle, earphone and iphone, she threw down her bag, and sat down under the tall oak tree. She knew that here, she would be left alone, and undisturbed. She plugged in her earphone and began to drink the clear liquor while listening to _The Downward Spiral_.

She just couldn't believe that Derek was the murderer. Is that why he gave her his number? Had she been his next target? If she had called him back, would he have lured her out and done what he'd done to that poor girl and bury her in the woods too? _I can't believe I fell for him_…_God, did I just think that?_ _Well, too late now, Contrats! Your first crush turned out to be a killer!_ And with that she took another swig of tequila. The world began to swirl with the music, so she lay down on the dry autumn leaves and closed her eyes. She didn't know what to think, so she just stopped.

* * *

"Elie! Elie! Wake up!" when Elie woke up, Stiles was looking down at her and shaking her shoulder.

"….. #$" Elie pushed him away and slowly sat up. She wondered what time it was.

"I was worried sick!"

"…why"

"WHY? WHY?! Because you never skip school! AND you weren't answering your phone!"

"…."

"…did you drink a whole bottle?" Stiles was holding up an empty bottle.

"Um…no. It wasn't new..."

Stiles sat down in front of her and he started to pick out pieces of dry leaves from her hair, and asked,

"Elie, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Really?!" said Elie and pushed away Stiles' hand.

"You're acting weird." Stiles looked concerned.

"Me? What about you and Scott?"

"What about me and Scott?"

"You know what, forget it." Elie stood up and shook leaves out of her jacket and jeans.

"What?"

"You'll just lie to my face again, like you've been doing for the past few days."

"I didn't lie to you!"

"AAAND, that was another one. Just stop it Stiles, I get it. You don't want me around anymore."

"I didn't say that! I'm not saying that!"

"Then, tell me right now, what it is you're keeping from me!" Elie yelled out in frustration. Tears were swelling up and she hated herself for getting this emotional. She felt so stupid. Like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum for not getting what she wants.

Startled by Elie's reaction, Stiles panicked and wondered whether to tell his sister about the werewolf situation. But he didn't want her involved in this because it might put her in danger. Knowing means becoming a target and he didn't want that for his sister or father. He opened and closed his mouth for a while, because he didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell her the truth. She hated lying to his sister, and seeing her upset…but he just couldn't. He didn't have any super-powers like Scott and if anything happened, he'd be powerless to do anything. He won't be able to protect her. So the only way he could keep her safe was to keep her in the dark.

"Don't cry, Elie"

"I'M NOT CRYING!" She punched Stiles in the stomach, grabbed her bike and rode out of the woods. Stiles bent double in pain, and called out to her but she ignored him.

* * *

"Aren't you coming to the game?" Back at home, the Sheriff was getting ready to go to the boys' lacrosse game. Usually, Elie would have been the first one out of the door, so the Sheriff was puzzled.

"No."

"Are you okay? You look terrible…"

"Thanks, Dad. I'm okay. Just tired, that's all,"

"Well, get some sleep then."

"Okay, enjoy the game!" Not wanting to worry her father, Elie gave him a smile.

After her father had left the house, Elie lay in her bed, thinking about the conversation she had with Stiles earlier that day. She wasn't angry anymore. It was replaced with sadness. And then she remembered the sad look Stiles had just before he told her not to cry. For a moment, she thought he was finally going to tell her the truth. She didn't give a damn whatever the secret was. What hurt her was that he had lied to her. And Scott too. She pulled the bed sheet over her head and cried and cried.

* * *

**Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and just reading! I'm sorry there isn't much Derek X Elie yet...I promise it's coming soon. I hope you're enjoying the story and I would love to know what you guys think, so drop me a line :) **


	6. Teenage Wasteland 5

#5

"Elie! Elie! Wake up!" Stiles jumped up on to her bed and shook her awake.

"…..ugh….what the hell, Stiles!?" Elie kicked her brother off of her bed and pulled the bed sheet over her head.

"We need to talk." Stiles sat on the floor, he reached for the bed sheet and tried to pull it back but Elie resisted and grumbled that they can talk in the morning.

"It's urgent! It's about Derek."

Elie peeped out of the sheets, prompting Stiles to continue.

"The police had to let him go…because…um…they don't have any evidence."

"…so he's not the killer?"

"He…..he's dangerous, Elie."

"How do you know that?"

"Just….just, trust me on this okay?"

"…."

"Look, you have to stay away from him okay?"

"Why? Because you said so? You don't get to tell me what to do!"

"Because….because he's dangerous! Even if he didn't kill that girl, he's dangerous!"

Stiles yelled back, getting frustrated with his sister, and with the whole situation. _Why was she being so stubborn?! _Stiles turned his back, leaned on the side of Elie's bed, and not knowing what to do, he frantically scratched his head.

"How do you know he's dangerous?"

"I just do! Okay?!" Stiles threw up his arms, turned around and looked up into Elie's eyes from the floor and pleaded with her.

"Look, Elie please. Promise you won't talk to him, or get close to him."

"….then tell me why"

"Because I don't want anything to happen to you!" Stiles cried out desperately.

Elie sat up on her bed and looked into her brother's eyes.

"I hate it when you keep secrets from me, Stiles."

"I know…and I'm sorry. But….but right now all I can tell you is….to stay away from Derek."

Elie felt puzzled by Stiles' conviction towards Derek. Did he know something that police didn't?

Taking Elie's silence as a refusal, Stiles got up from the floor, sat on the corner of Elie's bed and asked,

"Why is that such a problem? Do you like him or something?"

"No! wha- No! No way!" Elie denied it but she felt her ears starting to turn red in embarrassment. _God, what is happening? Why am I reacting like this?_ She wasn't sure whether she was being stubborn because she was angry at Stiles for keeping secrets, or because she didn't want to believe that Derek was the killer. Or both. _But I hardly know him!_

"Then promise me Elie, that you'll have nothing to do with him."

"…okay."

"You're lying. I'm serious."

"Okay, okay. I promise to stay away from Derek."

"Pinky swear"

Elie rolled her eyes and wrapped her pinky finger around Stiles' and they shook on it.

"Now, that wasn't too hard was it?" Stiles said with a huge grin on his face.

"…now get out of my room. I'm going back to sleep." Elie grumbled as she got back under the sheet.

"Okay, okay….good night!" Stiles jumped up from the bed and left the room. As he returned to his room, he wondered how long he could keep this up. He knew he couldn't keep the werewolf thing a secret from Elie forever.

* * *

The next day, when Stiles heard about Scott's dream and saw the bloodied bus, it made him more determined not to tell Elie about the werewolves roaming around Beacon Hills. That meant that he had to keep his sister away not only from Derek, but also from Scott, at least until he finds a way to keep his wolf powers under control. He hated seeing his sister being upset, but being upset and alive was better than being happy and…dead. His heart beat faster, his fingers felt numb and he began to breathe heavily. Stiles stopped thinking further, as the mere possibility of losing Elie was enough to trigger a panic attack. For now, he had to focus on helping Scott control his wolf powers so he wouldn't go berserk and eat someone.

#

"Oh my god, look who's sitting with Lydia!" Jessie nudged Elie who was picking out an apple at the cafeteria line. She turned around and looked where Jessie was looking, and saw her brother and Scott surrounded by Lydia and her gang. It was upsetting to see them sitting with someone else at lunch but she didn't want to look jealous, so she quickly turned around and concentrated on selecting her lunch.

"Well, I think it's because Scott made it to the first line and Allison likes him,"

"I guess they're really climbing up the social ladder, huh?"

"Good for them, I guess…" Elie was trying to hide it but it was clear to Jessie that this was upsetting her friend. So Jessie suggested taking their lunch outside. Elie gladly followed her friend out of the cafeteria but glanced back at the boys just once as they left.

Elie was trying to come to terms with the fact that they may be growing apart. Scott had always wanted to make it to the first line, and she guessed that since he had achieved it, hanging around different group of friends came with it naturally. Bonding with other team mates would be good for him. May be not Jackson but Scott will need a friend in the first line, and it seemed like Stiles won't be making it to first line just yet, so Scott hanging around the boys from lacrosse team was a good thing. And as added bonus, Stiles gets to hang around his beloved Lydia, even though she would be ignoring him most of the time. So everyone is happy. Except for Elie, who wanted things to stay the way they were.

Stiles said that nothing had changed between the three of them, but Elie knew that things were changing whether she liked it or not. She hated it but she couldn't stop it. She was angry, but she also realised that being angry and acting out aggression towards the boys would only push them away, make things worse. She knew she was being selfish and childish. She could stomp and fume all she liked but the reality was that they were growing up. They weren't five anymore. There was going to be girlfriends, college, work…all the things that pushed them further apart. It dawned on her then that the only way for her to get over it was to accept it and go along with it.

As she listened to Jessie talk about the football game she had watched with her father (probably to keep Elie's mind off her problems), Elie realised that she had to get her shit together and act like a friend and be happy for the boys.

#

"Am I attractive to gay guy-….?! You didn't answer my questi-"

"You've finally given up on Lydia then?" Elie sneaked up on Stiles who seemed startled by her.

"Elieee…..what up? Wait, were you listening to us the whole time?"

"Um…from 'I don't think Danny likes me very much' why?"

"Nothing, nothing…Scott was having a minor breakdown. He _does not know_ how to talk in front of girls."

They started walking out to the parking lot together.

"So, Scott's finally going out with Allison, huh?"

"Tomorrow. Um…it's a double date with Lydia and Jackson."

"Seriously?!" Elie burst out laughing.

"I know, right? Anyways, since Scott's going to be busy, wanna go see a movie tomorrow?" Stiles was relieved by his sister's laugh. It seemed like it was ages since he had heard her laugh.

"You'll have to watch on your own, I've got a game to play, remember?" said Elie as she walked off towards Stiles' Jeep. Stiles pulled out his phone and checked his calendar.

"What? Your game's tomorrow? I thought it was -…oh…then the movie can wait."

"You're coming to the game?" sounding surprised, Elie turned around.

"I always go to your games," said Stiles matter-of-factly.

"Yeah….but we don't hang around that much anymore so, you know…." Stiles noticed his sister's expression clouding, so he quickly assured her as they both got into his Jeep.

"I'll be there. I'm your personal cheerleader remember?"

Elie laughed again as she put her seat belt on.

* * *

Elie listened to 'The Fight Song' as she got ready for the lacrosse game in the locker room. It was one of the songs that she listened to, before the game to get her adrenalin pumping. She had received a warning from the coach because she had missed a practice the day before…so she knew she had to perform well tonight, to get her name crossed off coach's black list and keep her place in the first line. She turned off her music player and pulled out her earphones when the coach told them to gather around in circle.

She loved playing lacrosse and the she loved rush that she felt from setting her foot on the field at the game. She could see her father and Stiles in the crowds cheering her on. It was great seeing her family at the game supporting her but she felt a pang of disappointment at the empty seat beside Stiles, where Scott normally sat. _Scott is on double date with Allison remember?_ She shook her head as if to keep negative thoughts out of her head. _I'm going to get my shit together, and I really needed to concentrate on the game so STOP THINKING ABOUT SCOTT,_ she thought as the whistle signaled the start of a game.

#

By half-time, the score was 2 to 1 and they were winning. Over the loud cheers, she could hear Stiles and her father screaming in excitement. Elie and her team mates were in good spirits, as the flow of the game was in their favour right through the first half of the game. If they could keep it up, they could win the game easily. The coach came up to Elie, who was gulping down water, and gave her a big slap on the back for scoring a goal. She looked back at her father and Stiles who were waving their arms like monkeys high on recreational drugs or something. She shook her head but she couldn't help smiling.

After the half-time, the game became more intense as the other team became more and more desperate and aggressive. The score board had stopped at 3 to 2, and as they ran up and down the field, the time kept ticking away.

When Elie caught the ball with only few minutes left, the crowd erupted. She ran across the field, dodging the defense right and left, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw two players running towards her at full speed but her team mates weren't in range so she sprinted on and was about to score her second goal, when the two players crashed into her and they all bulldozed into the goalie. As she fell, she felt a sharp pain in her right knee and heard the whistle blow.

#

"Awwww!" Elie yelled out in pain as the medic was probing her leg to figure out the injury. Her father and Stiles were looking down at her with a concerned look.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…I can play…" Elie sat up and pushed away the medic's hand.

"Elie! _PRICE_! Don't you know anything about the _PRICE_ protocol? Protection and Rest! You can't play"

Stiles yelled out from above her head. _What the hell was he talking about?_ The medic motioned her not to get up, grabbed an ice pack from his bag and said,

"Young lady, you can't play…your knee is already beginning to swell up. See?"

"Yes! Ice! We need ice! C is…c, compression! You need to –"

"Stiles, shut up and let the man do his job," said the Sheriff as he pulled his son back, so the medic could tend to his daughter's injury without Stiles hovering over him.

"But, the game…"

"We're winning, and there's only like three minutes left…they can handle it," said Stiles.

"If you play on, you'll make it worse and you won't be playing for a long time."

As if making his point, the medic applied pressure to Elie's knee and she cried out in pain.

" #$%!"

#

"You were fierce tonight princess," said the Sheriff as he drove Elie to the hospital. She just grunted.

"It was a great game! I'm proud of you," he continued. They had won. Elie was happy about the game, but the throbbing pain in her knee was getting worse. When they got to the hospital, even standing up was painful, as sharp pain pierced through her leg and she winced as she got out of her father's car. The sheriff quickly moved to her side and put her arms around his neck and helped her walk.

"Let me just carry you – "

"NO, Dad…I'm too old to be carried around…I'm walking"

"But you're hurt! And this is not walking. You're limping"

"Yes, Dad but unless I've broken both my legs, you don't get to pick me up and carry me around like a little girl…"

"Okay, okay…."

When they entered the hospital, Melissa came running towards them.

"Oh my god, Elie what happened?"

"It's nothing serious, just sprained knee…I think"

"How was the game?" Melissa asked, as she led them to one of the doctors.

"It was great! She scored a goal and we won 3 to 2!" the Sheriff proudly replied.

"You go girl!"

"Thanks, Dad…but I'm okay so you just sit and wait in the lobby!"

#

"What did the doctor say?" the Sheriff asked, as he put down the magazine he was reading.

"Just a sprain. I have to rest it for three days or something… So I need to use these stupid things for a while…." Elie waved around the crutches.

"If you don't like them I can always carry you back to the car?"

"Daaaaad!" the Sheriff chuckled as his daughter groaned.

"Come on, let's get you home" he put his arm around his daughters shoulder and squeezed it tight.

"Do you want to get some ice cream on the way back?"

"Daaaaaaaaad!"

"So no ice cream?"

"….well….yeah, okay. I'll have chocolate."

The sheriff smiled as he led his wincing daughter to his car.

* * *

**Sorry, I couldn't update earlier...I had a mild case of stomach bug...I'm feeling much better and couldn't sleep so here's an update! Hope you enjoy it :) **

**Thank you so much for the reviews, follows…and just reading! I'm starting to freak out at the number of people reading this...:s **


	7. Teenage Wasteland 6

#6

The next morning, Elie was eating breakfast when the sheriff sat down in front of her and unfolded his newspaper. The sheriff glanced at Elie's crutches, which was propped up next to her and suggested,

"Why don't you take a day off?"

"Seriously, Dad? It's just a sprain!"

"The doctor did say to rest it for few days…"

A chance to stay at home was tempting as, she thought of the _Sherlock_ DVD box set she had borrowed from Hannah, that she hadn't been able to watch yet, but she thought better of it.

"Dad, I don't think he meant stay in bed….besides that's why I've got THESE!" Elie pointed with her spoon at the crutches. The sheriff's reply was interrupted by Stiles, who ran down the stairs and stormed into the kitchen and running around like a Tasmanian devil, preparing his breakfast.

"Morning! How's your knee?" Stiles asked as slipped the pop-tarts in the toaster.

"Okay…"

"So, I'm going to be your personal chauffeur for the next few days, huh?"

"Uh….if you don't mind. I can get a ride from Jessie or Hannah too, so no pressure…"

"No problem, sis"

"Well, I have to go…Stiles, take care of princess" said the sheriff as he finished off his coffee, folded up his newspaper and stood up.

"Yes, sir!" said Stiles as he saluted.

"Daaaaad!" Elie rolled her eyes and kicked her brother's shin with her good leg.

* * *

The pain wasn't too bad but walking with the crutches were annoying and Elie was beginning to wish she had taken up on her father's offer. She could have been in bed watching _Sherlock_ and eating a bowl of ice cream, instead of hobbling along a crowded corridor. She was at her locker, taking her books out and shoving it into her backpack, when the crutches she had propped up next to her fell down. Swearing under her breath, Elie was about to bend down to pick it up, when Scott rushed to her side and picked it up for her. It had been few days since Elie last talked to Scott so it was kind of awkward, and by the way Scott was sheepishly grinning he felt the same way too.

"Thanks,"

"No problem…um…I'm sorry I missed your game"

"Um…it's okay…..it's not like you have to be at every one of my games"

"No, I…I feel really bad…."

"…well you don't have to"

"Is your knee okay?"

"…yup"

"Look, I know I've been kind of distant…."

"…"

"I've…I've got lot on my plate at the moment. I'm….I'm going through some changes and I… I think I'm overwhelmed by it all."

"…"

"The thing is…."

"…."

"I miss you."

"You do?"

"Yes!"

"I miss you too…."

"I know….but…"

"But?"

"I…I just have to figure something out…"

"?"

"I can't promise things would go back to the way it was…but…once I figure this out, I promise I'll tell you everything."

Elie had no idea what Scott was going through, though she suspected it had something to do with either lacrosse or Allison, or both. The fact that he had confided in Stiles but not to her, had hurt her and it still did but when she heard Scott say that he missed her, the thought of losing her friend slowly faded away. For the moment, she knew that there was nothing she could do but wait for Scott to sort out whatever problem he was dealing with and she would have to be there for him as a good friend would do.

"So, how was the double date?"

"It was horrible! I mean Allison was great but…"

"Jackson?"

"He really really hates me…"

"That's because he sees you as threat."

"Me?"

"Yeah, I mean who knows? In few weeks you might play better than him"

They slowly walked towards Elie's class, as Scott recounted his date with Allison to Elie.

"I think you'll like her…"

"She's nice"

"You know her?"

"She's in my French class."

"I'd rather have her hang around us, than with Lydia and others"

"Yeah…but I don't think Lydia's going to let go of her new best-friend that easily"

Scott groaned at the prospect of having to hang around Jackson. Elie knew Scott was still keeping something from her but she was happy that he seemed to be opening up about Allison. To know that she wasn't being shut off completely from his life was reassuring.

By the lunch time, her hands were sore and she was fed up with the crutches, so she was really irritated when she was stopped by Jackson who stood in front of her, blocking the way to the cafeteria. She had no intention of hiding her dislike towards him so she bluntly asked him,

"What do you want?"

"I need to talk."

"So talk,"

"You're friends with McCall right?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me what McCall is on"

"What?"

" WHAT, IS, HE, ON?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look, he's got to be on something"

"Why?"

"Come on! How else do you explain his performance?" Jackson rolled his eyes and seemed frustrated by Elie's reaction. He probably thought she was playing dumb. She had also been puzzled by Scott's sudden improvement but listening to Jackson insult Scott by claiming that he had to be on drugs to be able to play good, made her furious.

"If you don't get out of my face right now, I'm going to shove these crutches up your arse!"

Realising that he won't be getting any information from her, he walked off, leaving Elie fuming in the corridor.

* * *

"Elie! Ready to go home?!" Elie heard Stiles yell from behind her. Looking at his sister's face scrunched up in pain, he quickly stood next to her and offered to carry her bag, which she gladly handed over.

"Are you okay?"

"No"

"You should've stayed at home, Elie"

"It's not my knee! It's my hands!" Elie wailed and stopped to show her brother her blisters.

"Ouch….you want me to carry you?"

"No." Elie growled as she refused, to which Stiles just shrugged and walked alongside his sister who was whimpering every time she put her weight on the crutches. The blisters were so irritating that it was tempting to throw down the crutches and just walk. Her knee can be damned.

She climbed into the Jeep, and Stiles was putting her crutches and their bags in the backseat, when she mentioned her unpleasant encounter with Jackson.

"He asked you what?"

"He thinks Scott is on some kind of drugs…"

"Well…..he isn't"

"I know." Elie could sense that whatever Stiles and Scott was hiding from her had something to do with this. He didn't look like he was lying when he said that Scott wasn't using drugs…but he quickly turned the ignition and looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with her. She had decided to let the boys be, and wait until they decided to tell her everything but she couldn't resist, so she pressed on.

"So it's not the drugs"

"Hmmmm…."

Stiles refused to answer, so when he suddenly hit the break and yelled out 'Oh my god!' Elie thought he was trying to avoid the question. But when she looked out the front glass, she saw Derek swaying to and fro. He eventually collapsed and she caught Stiles mutter,

"You gotta be kidding me, this guy is everywhere!"

Before Elie could ask what he meant by 'everywhere' Stiles quickly got out of the car. Elie tried to get out but Stiles told her to stay in the car. She could see Scott, kneeling in front of Derek and Stiles standing over them but she couldn't make out what they were saying due, to the multiple car horns of frustrated drivers behind them. The three of them were coming towards the car and Elie figured they were taking him to the hospital or something so she climbed into the backseat. While Scott was helping Derek get into the passenger seat, Stiles told Elie to get out of Jeep, and get a ride from her friend. She glared at him in defiance.

"Elie! Get out!"

"No! I'm coming with you!"

"Elie! You said you could ride home with Jessie!"

"She's already left because I told her I'm going home with you!"

"Well, the plan's changed!"

"You can't leave me stranded at school!"

The incessant car horns were getting out of control and they were attracting way too much attention so Stiles gave up and got into his Jeep. He knew she'd ask questions…this is not how he wanted his sister to find out….in fact, she was never supposed to find out. _Damn! Damn!_ _Wait,_ _I can drop her off at the house and then take him home. Eh, she'll start asking questions again when I get home but I can think about that later…_

"Right, get him out of here!"

"I hate you for this, so much!"

_Why are they helping Derek? I thought Stiles hated him….Is he dying? What in God's name is going on?!_ Elie waited for Stiles to explain but he kept driving in silence so she leaned over and demanded an answer.

"Stiles, what the hell is going on?"

"…."

"….she doesn't know?"

"I don't know WHAT?"

"….shutup, shutup"

"Stiles! …..Hang on, he's in on it too?" Elie asked, as her brain just caught up with what Derek had said. Stiles and Derek were glaring at each other. Instead of answering her, Stiles told her that he was dropping her off first.

"No! Wait! You can't! Look at him! He's really really sick! We have to take him to hospital! We don't have time to drop me of at home!"

"We can't take him to the hospital!" _SHIT!_ Stiles swore under his breath as he realised that he'd have to tell her about the werewolf situation if he was to explain why.

"What to do you mean you can't? I thought the police let him go…is he on the run?"

"Um…yes."

"No."

"Well, which is it?!"

"Look, he needs some….medication….which Scott's got to fetch…."

"What medication? And why is Scott getting it?"

"Really?" Derek snorted at Stiles' attempt to cover up the truth.

"Shutup." Stiles glared at Derek and began to call Scott, who wasn't answering. Muttering under his breath, Stiles punched a text.

"Sti-" Elie was interrupted by Stiles' ringtone. Stiles quickly grabbed his phone, read the message and then threw his phone down.

"Come on!...Hey, try not to bleed out on my seats okay? We're almost there…"

"Almost where?"

Stiles sighed as he continued.

"Your house?"

"What?!You can't take me there"

"I can't take you to your own house!?"

"No, not while I can't protect myself"

_Protect himself from what?_

In frustration, Stiles swerved to the side of the road and stopped the car. Elie bumped her injured knee onto the back of the front seat.

"Aw….what the hell?"

Ignoring Elie, Stiles turns to Derek and angrily confronted him.

"What if Scott doesn't find your _magic bullet_?"

"….."

"What bullet? Is that some kind of drugs? I thought he was getting some kind of medication!"

"Hmm?! Are you dying?" Stiles ignored Elie as he continued to confront Derek.

"Not yet….I have a last resort…." Derek replied, breathing heavily. He seemed to be getting worse.

"What do you mean?! What LAST resort!?"

"What bullet!?" Elie punched the car seat to get Stiles' attention but it wasn't working. In frustration she was reaching out to grab Stiles' shirt, when she saw Derek lift up his sleeve. It looked something like a bullet wound, There was a hole in his arm, and the wound looked unusual with dark veins branching out from the hole. It looked really bad.

"We have to take him to a doctor, right now!"

"Oh my God!? What is that? Is that contagious? You know what, you should probably just get out"

"Start the car NOW" Ignoring both twins, Derek ordered Stiles.

"I don't think you should be barking orders, with the way you look! Okay? In fact, I think if I wanted to, I could probably drag your werewolf ass out in the middle of the road and leave you for DEAD." Stiles was being unusually hostile. It wasn't like him to threaten someone who was hurt. What was going on between them? And what did he mean by werewolf!? _I thought that was a joke between Scott and Stiles!_

"What?! Don't be stupid! We have to take him to the doctors!"

"Start the car, or I'm going to rip your throat out. With my teeth." Derek threatened Stiles who then reluctantly started the car and began to drive away.

"If we're just going to drive around until Scott gets back, then we're dropping Elie off"

"Fine."

"NO! I want to know what's going on right now!"

"Elie! This is not the time!"

"If you drop me off at home, I'm going to call dad to tell him that you're driving around with Derek Hale who's been shot!"

"No one likes a snitch, Elie"

"Stiles!" Elie reached out and grabbed her brother's ear and yanked it in frustration. She knew it was childish and dangerous as he was behind the wheel, but she was fed up with being ignored. Stiles yelled out in pain and slapped Elie's hand.

"Just tell her." suddenly Derek spoke

"You shut up." Stiles snapped at Derek.

Elie leaned back, sank into the seats and crossed her arms.

"Why keep it a secret?" Derek asked Stiles.

"Because it's dangerous!"

"Pulling a blanket over her eyes doesn't make her safe."

"Knowing doesn't keep her safe either!"

"Knowing what? Safe from what?" Before Stiles could answer, Derek started to groan in pain. Whatever it was, it was getting worse. Her curiosity would have to wait, so she insisted again.

"If we can't take him to the doctors, what if we call Melissa? May be she can help"

"No! She'll tell dad about it!"

"Is dad after him? I thought he wasn't the killer!"

"Everything's going to be okay once Scott gets here!"

_What's taking him so long anyway?_ Stiles picked up his phone to call Scott. As soon as Scott picked up his phone, Stiles began to complain about Derek.

"What am I supposed to do with him?...By the way, he' s starting to smell….like DEATH!...What about your boss?"

Stiles sighed and handed his phone over to Derek as he said, "you're not going to believe where he wants me to take you."

"Did you find it?...If you don't find it, I'm dead…..Think about this. The alpha calls you out against your will…..He's gonna do it again. Next time, you either kill with him or you get killed. So if you wanna stay alive, then you need me. Find the bullet."

_Alpha? What the hell did he mean by alpha? _

_What did he mean kill or get killed? Was Scott involved in a gang? Hang on is there even a gang in Beacon Hills? Why can't Derek go to hospital? And what the hell was a bullet? Is it an actual bullet? How could having a bullet help him at all?_

Elie was confused and she had millions of questions but the seriousness of the situation dawned on her and it stopped her from asking them (at least for now) as she looked at Derek who really did look like he was dying. They quickly drove to the Animal Clinic, and got to the spare key as instructed by Scott. Elie followed them, expecting Stiles to tell her to wait in the car but he seemed to have given up shielding her from whatever was going on since he didn't say anything. While rummaging for the key, Stiles got a call from Scott.

"Does Nordic Blue Monkshood mean anything to you?"

"It's a rare form of wolfsbane…he has to bring me the bullet"

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to die without it." Derek was sweating, and he struggled to walk as they made their way into the clinic. Staggering into the room, Derek took his shirt off and began to rummage through the drawers. Not knowing what to do, Elie and Stiles stood around the table. When Derek put his injured arm on the table, Stiles commented,

"You know that really doesn't look like anything some magnesia and good night's sleep could take care of?"

"If the infection reaches my heart, it will kill me…."

"Positivity really isn't in your vocabulary, is it?"

"If he doesn't get here with the bullet…the last resort….."

"Which is?"

Derek held up an electric handsaw.

"You're going to cut off my arm"

Stiles and Elie looked at each other in horror. Ignoring their reaction, Derek began to tie the rubber band around his bicep, so Elie slowly walked over to help him. When she reached up, Derek looked surprised but didn't stop her, so she tightened the rubber band in silence. _I can't believe I'm taking part in this! _Stiles was shocked by Elie's action, but he too picked up the handsaw, but he quickly put it down as soon as the blade began to roar.

"Oh my god…what if you bleed to death?"

"It'll heal if it works"

"Look, I don't know if I can do this"

"Why not?"

"Well, because cutting through the flesh, sawing through the bone, especially the blood!"

"What? You faint at the sight of blood?"

"No?! But I might, at the sight of a chopped off arm!"

"…fine how about this? You cut off my arm, or I'm going to cut off your head."

"You know what? I'm so not buying your threat-"

Derek grabbed Stiles by the shirt and pulled him to his face, glaring at him.

"Oh my God, okay bought it, sold! totally, I'll do it." Stiles reluctantly agrees to do it, and Elie stood there watching them feeling useless.

"What? What are you doing?" asked Stiles, when Derek suddenly bent over the table. He threw up some black gunk, freaking out Stiles and Elie. What kind of infection did THAT to a body? It looked like something from a horror film. One of those Japanese horror films...thought Elie as she stood there not knowing what to do.

"Oh my God, what the hell is that?"

"….my….body's…starting to heal…."  
"Well it's not doing very good job…."

"Look honestly, I don't think I can…"  
"Just do it!"

"Oh my god! Okay okay….god…okay….here we go!"

"Stiles?!" As soon as they heard Scott's voice, the feeling of relief washed over Stiles.

"Scott?"

"What the hell are you doing?" Scott freaked out at the sight of the handsaw.

"Oh, you just prevented a life time of nightmares"

"And therapy." Elie added.

"Did you get it?"

"What are you gonna do with it?" Scott took out a bullet from his pocket. Elie stared. I thought it was some sort of medication. _They literally meant bullet?How's that supposed to help? _Elie's train of thoughts were interrupted when Derek collapsed and the bullet rolled away. Scott jumped after it, while Elie and Stiles hovered over Derek who had passed out.

"Derek? Come on, wake up! Scott! What the hell are we gonna do?"

"I don't know! I can't reach it!"

"He's not waking up!"

"I think he's dying! I think he's dead!"

"Check his pulse!" when Elie yelled, Stiles put his fingers over Derek's neck.

"Just hold on!...I got it! I got it!"

"Please don't kill me for this!" said Stiles and punched Derek, who woke up, and despite looking dazed he managed to scramble up with the help from Scott. He bit off the top bit of the bullet, and spilled the contents out on to the table. He then took out his lighter and set fire on the powder. A blue flame shot up, and when the flame disappeared he gathered the powder in his palm and he rubbed it into his wound.

Derek fell down screaming in agony and thrashed around on the floor. The three of them stared down at him, not knowing whether the cure was working or killing him. It was hard to tell by his screams but then, they saw the wound beginning to heal. It was like watching a video image backwards. The hole was gone, the popping veins had disappeared, and the colour began to come back to Derek's face.

"That was AWESOME!YES!" Stiles yelled out in excitement. Elie was just dumbfounded. _What just happened? Was that physically possible?_

"Are you okay?" Scott asked as Derek was getting up. He seemed okay since he wasn't sweating anymore. And the hole in his arm was really GONE.

"Except for the agonising pain" said Derek as he put his shirt back on.

"I guess the ability to use the sarcasm is a good sign of health" Stiles rambled on and got a glare from Derek.

"Okay, we saved your life, which means you're going to leave us alone. You got that?" Scott demanded. Making Elie wonder what the boys' relationship with Derek was. _Why did they help him? and what did he mean 'leave us alone'?_

"And if you don't, I'm going to go back to Allison's dad and I'm going to tell him everything-"

_Allison's dad? What's Allison's family got to do with….with whatever the hell this is. Is everyone else in on it? Am I the only one in the dark? Who else knows about….this!?_

"You're going to trust them? You think they can help you?"

"Why not?! They are freakin' nicer than you are!"

"Yeah, I can show you exactly how nice they are"

"What do you mean?"

As Scott and Derek glared at each other, the twins stood around not knowing what to do, when suddenly, '_Like A Rolling Stone'_ rang through the clinic. It was Elie's phone.

"Shit. It's dad, what do I tell him?" Elie held up her phone, wondering what to tell her father.

"Tell him…tell him we're picking up pizza!" as soon as Stiles came up with an excuse, Elie answered her phone.

"Hi, Dad!"

"Hey Elie, where are you? Are you with Stiles?"

"Yup…we're…..we're on our way to get some pizza!"

"Oh, okay…don't forget to get some pizza rolls too."

"Pizza rolls! Got it!" said Elie as she gave her brother thumbs up.

* * *

"So, since no one is dying anymore, can you please explain what the hell is going on?"

On the way home, with the boxes of pizza resting on her lap, Elie demanded explanation from Stiles. He sighed and began to talk since he knew it was no use hiding it from her anymore.

"….you know how I joked about Scott being a werewolf?"

"Yes?"

"Well, as it turns out…he really did become a werewolf."

"….keep going"

"Um….we initially thought it was Derek who bit Scott"

"Derek's a werewolf too?"

"Yup…but it turns out that there is another one."

"Who is it?"

"We don't know"

"And what about Allison's dad?"

"Um….Allison's family is hunters."

"Hunters,"

"Yes…they kill werewolves…."

"...Why didn't you tell me all this?"

"Because knowing can put you in danger!"

"Am I in danger now? Are YOU in danger?"

"Um….no….I don't think so, but"

"But?"

"If something happens….I can't protect you."

"Why would I need you to protect me?"

"You haven't seen Derek in werewolf form…they are really scary."

"They?"

"Even Scott tried to kill me couple of times."

"Kill you?"

"Well, it wasn't his fault it was the full moon, you see…"

"Werewolves"

"Yup"

"In Beacon Hills"

"Yup"

"Are there anything else? Like Vampires or witches?"

"Not to my knowledge…but I wouldn't be surprised if there were."

"Holy mother of Jesus…"

Elie couldn't believe what she was hearing despite having witnessed Derek's recovery…_I mean werewolves? Really? _She knew the saying 'seeing is believing' but even when she'd seen it, it was hard to believe. _Werewolves? What next? Harris turns out to be a blood-sucking vampire?_

* * *

**Sorry to Keep you guys waiting! My life has been somewhat hectic this past few days…I hope to sort everything out by next week so I can start posting at least once a week :) **


	8. Teenage Wasteland 7

#7

Elie was doing her homework on the bed, listening to Florence and the Machine when she heard something or someone knock on her window. Her room was on the second floor, so she wondered whether she was hearing things, but turned the music off just to make sure. She heard it again, clearly this time, so she hopped over to open the curtain (her knee was still sore) and found Scott sheepishly grinning outside her window. She had asked him to come over to talk, but she wasn't expecting him to come in from her window. She opened the window to let him in.

"So, wolf-boy, I guess you're not using the front door anymore?"

"You heard everything from Stiles?" asked Scott, as he climbed into Elie's room. The three of them had usually hung out in Stile's room so he couldn't remember the last time he was in her room. Elie had been one of the boys ever since they were little, but seeing her neatly organised room that faintly smelled of the perfume reminded him that Elie was a girl. He sniffed and wondered since when his friend wore perfume. Elie noticed Scott sniffing and remembered that he now had keen sense of smell.

"Scented candle…Sorry, is it too strong?"

"No, it's nice….hey, did you change the wheels on this thing?" Scott sat down on Elie's bed and picked up the longboard that was lying on the floor, and gave the wheels a spin. It reminded him of the holidays, when they fooled around riding skateboards, and the only worry he had was making it to the first line of lacrosse team when the school started.

Elie swiveled her desk chair towards Scott and sat down. She asked him what had been bugging her the whole time.

"So, how come you didn't tell me about being a werewolf?"

"Well to be fair, Stiles was the one who figured it all out first…"

"Huh? But you were the one with the bite!"

"I know…but I had no idea what was going on, and Stiles told me that I was a werewolf. I didn't believe him until I began to feel weird at Lydia's party…I nearly changed in front of everyone." Scott shuddered at the thought. Stiles had been adamant that they leave Elie out of all this werewolf business and Scott didn't argue with him, because he couldn't even control his own transformation. He had also been concerned about how she'd react. He put down the longboard and looked up at Ellie.

"Besides, I didn't want you to think that I was a…a freak or something."

"I don't think you're a freak," Elie looked Scott straight in the eyes and answered him. She hadn't seen him change into a werewolf yet so she didn't know what to think. Was it going to be like _The Twilight _films where they go completely wolf? Or more Michael Jackson kind of werewolf, from the music video for Thriller where only the face and hands changed. To be honest, Elie was a little curious.

"Well, you haven't seen me change…."

"Then show me." When Elie blatantly demanded, Scott was startled and hastily refused.

"What? Now? No! I mean, I haven't figured out how it all works….and I could go crazy and hurt you!"

"…So I'll get to see it next full moon?"

"Uh…hopefully I can learn to control it by then…"

"How?"

"I…..have no idea."

Elie looked at Scott and started feeling sorry for him. She could relate to being overwhelmed by change…She hated the way her body was changing and was frustrated that there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her body growing up and him becoming a werewolf was a completely different thing, but still, she could understand how difficult it must be for Scott to deal with his condition, and the frustration he must be feeling towards not being able to stop it or control it. She could also relate to not being able to ask anyone for help. It's not like there is a support-line or meetings he could attend for being a werewolf. At least she had Melissa and Jessie. In an attempt to cheer him up, Elie brought up the cons of being a werewolf.

"Well, at least you're awesome at lacrosse now, and you've got a hot girlfriend."

"Yeah, she is…isn't she?" Scott stared into air and started to look dreamy, so Elie quickly asked something that had been in her mind for a while, before he drifted further away into his daydream.

"How do you know she's the one?"

"Uh, I don't know…but when she walked into the class room and smiled, it felt like the time had stopped…and…and I just knew."

"So, it was like love at first sight?" Before Scott could answer, she heard loud footsteps charging towards her room and the door burst open.

"Hey! Elie, come down…..Oh! Hey, Scott! What are you doing here? I mean what are you guys doing?" Stiles looked puzzled. He didn't hear him come in. _What were they talking about anyway? _Before Stiles could ask, Elie quickly answered, because she didn't want Stiles to find out that they had been talking about falling for someone. Unlike Scott, Stile would badger on and somehow figure out that she had 'feelings' for Derek and knowing Stiles, he would freak out and over-react.

Besides, she wasn't really sure what to make of the whole situation anyway. She had never felt this way about a guy before. When she was little and went to one of those sleepovers, she was forced to name some random boy as her 'crush.' Under the pressure to 'reveal' a secret, she had picked some boy that she had met while they were on holiday. She used to sit there feeling dumb as other girls giggled and gossiped about boys. She knew she could tell Jessie anything and she wouldn't make fun of her but still, it was difficult for Elie to talk about guys. She had no idea what to say, and for some reason, it was really really embarrassing. Maybe it was because she wasn't used to seeing the boys as _boys_.

So in order to avoid having an awkward conversation with her brother, Elie pointed at Scott and meekly answered, "I wanted to see him go wolf but he won't change."

"WHAT!? Are you out your mind?! I told you he's dangerous when he goes wolf!"

"Yeah, but I was curious."

"Curious!? You could die, Elie! He tried to kill me remember?!"

"But you _didn't_, obviously."

"I was THIS close! You saw my chair! He could rip you open!"

"Hey, guys….I'm right here you know"

When Scott interrupted, the twins looked at Scott and then each other, and then back at Scott who seemed a little upset.

"Sorry" "Sorry"

"By the way, what did you want?" Wanting to change the subject, Scott asked Stiles who for a moment looked confused as if he had forgotten why he had barged into Elie's room. When he remembered, he slapped his forehead and said,

"Oh, yeah…_The Conjuring_ is going to be on TV! Come on! I'll make the popcorn!"

It was a horror movie that the twins had been looking forward to, so they headed downstairs to the living room while Stiles stormed into the kitchen to microwave the popcorn. As they sat down on the couch waiting for the film to start, Elie realised that it had been a while since the three of them had spent some time together like this. She couldn't stop smiling because it seemed like everything was back to 'normal.' Well,_ almost_ normal.

She was still not sure what to think about the werewolf situation because she hasn't seen Scott, or Derek change…._Oh, I wonder if Derek is okay_, thought Elie. She didn't really get to talk to him since the boys had been around the whole time and she didn't feel giddy like she did at the diner, probably because the whole situation of him nearly dying was freaking her out. Elie's thoughts were interrupted when her brother threw a popcorn at her and announced that the movie was about to start.

"What were you thinking about? You were zoning out…" Scott asked Elie as he munched on the popcorn. Before Elie could answer, they were shushed by Stiles, so Elie quietly told Scott that it was nothing and turned her attention towards the movie.

* * *

The next day when the bell rang, Elie told her brother that she won't be riding home with him.

"Sandy's going to pick me up after school. We're going straight to the diner."

"What? You're going to work? With that knee?"

"I keep telling people it's just a sprain! Besides, I can walk without the crutches now!"

"That's limping, not walking."

"Yeah, whatever, I can move. I'm going to back to work."

"So you're not going to be home for dinner?"

"No, it's just you and dad tonight. Try and get something healthy, Okay?"

"Okay, Okay….Hey, can you get me a slice of the cherry pie? They are soooo good."

Elie promised him the pie, waved him goodbye and she hurried towards the blue Ford Fiesta where Sandy was touching up her make-up.

"Thanks for the ride, Sandy" said Elie as she climbed into the passenger seat. Sandy's car smelt like cigarettes and Calvin Klein's CK One. Sandy put her mascara away and gave Elie a huge smile as she started the car.

"No problem, babe. So, how's your knee? Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yup…I've got this knee support band thingy so it'll be fine."

As they drove to the diner, Sandy asked about Derek, with a huge grin on her face.

"So, did you give him a call?"

"No."

"What? For real?"

"Um….but I saw him the other day."

"Ooooohh…"

"Nothing happened. As it turns out, he knew Stiles and Scott…."

"Did he say anything?"

"Um….No…he was kind of busy." _Busy dying_, she added in her head. To her relief, Sandy left it at that and began gossiping about the drama at the diner. Elie wasn't particularly interested in a feud between the kitchen staff and the waitresses but she didn't want Sandy to bring up Derek again, so she was happy to listen.

* * *

Just before the end of her shift, Elie heard a loud siren as a police car sped by the diner. She didn't give it much thought and kept serving the customers, but when it was followed by another siren, this time of the ambulance, she began to wonder what was going on. Elie put a slice of cherry pie in the take-out plastic container for her brother, took off her apron, and sorted her tip money to go home. She took her phone out to call Stiles but decided to grab something to eat at one of her favourite Mexican restaurant few blocks away so she put it back into her pocket, and walked out of the diner.

The street was deserted and unusually quiet, which made her a little nervous, as she remembered the sirens earlier. When she finally got to the restaurant, the door was closed and Elie was staring at the 'Closed' sign.

"Ow, COME ON! Are you freaking kidding me?!" Elie yelled in frustration. She looked around but she didn't feel like getting a burger or Chinese so she sighed, and decided to walk back to the diner and just grab the grilled cheese sandwich or something.

As she started walking, and the restaurants behind her got further away, she began to feel uneasy. She felt like she was being watched, so she nervously looked around but there was no one around. It was quiet and the street lights flickered, making the atmosphere slightly eerie. She tried to think that the horror movie she watched last night was making her jumpy, but deep down she knew that the lingering memories of the scary scenes were not the source of her uneasiness. She felt the hair on her neck stand up, and the uneasy feeling surged, so ignoring the pain in her knee, she picked up the pace. Looking behind her shoulder, Elie could see that no one was following her, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched.

When Elie finally got to the diner, she felt a wave of relief wash over her and she began to feel silly. As Elie walked into the diner and made her way to the kitchen, Sandy rushed over.

"Elie, did you hear? Someone was killed at the video store!"

"What?"

"I just heard from one of the customers!"

"Was it a robbery or something?"

Sandy told Elie that all she knew was, that someone had died, and she went back to filling up the empty coffee mugs. After ordering her sandwich, Elie took out her phone to call Stiles, but it rang before she could the press 'call' button. It was Stiles, so she quickly answered it.

"Great timing Stiles…can you pick me up?"

Ignoring Elie, Stiles said,

"I'm at the video store with dad, and you're not going to believe this!"

"Someone died?"

"WHAT?! How did you know?"

"Word gets around fast in this town remember? One of the customers told Sandy, and she told me. If you're down at the video store, I can walk over there. It's only a few blocks away anyway."

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"Whatever killed the guy might still be out there! Stay!"

"You mean….it was 'you-know-what' that killed the guy?" Elie held her hand over her phone and whispered.

"Not sure yet…but murder used to be rare in this town until this alpha turned up, so I have my suspicions. You stay there, and as soon as dad's done here, we'll come and get you."

"Okay"

"Wait inside okay? And don't forget that pie."

"Okay, okay"

She sat down at the counter and decided to eat her sandwich, since her dad might take a while at the crime scene. As she ate, she wondered whether the alpha could have actually been lurking around the dark alley just then, or she was just being paranoid.

* * *

"I'm certain they saw something last night!" Stiles ranted to Elie as they left the school parking lot in Stiles' Jeep.

"Lydia's not here and Jackson's acting weird."

"Well, they saw a dead body, and for most people it can be a traumatising experience."

"No, it's more than that…I'm sure of it. It's got Jackson completely spooked!"

"Why are you so on edge?" Elie asked as she detected a hint of anxiety in her brother's voice.

"There's alpha running around and Scott's fooling around with Allison!"

"Stop freaking out about it, you're starting to freak me out."

"People are dying, Elie!"

"Yeah, but it's not exactly Scott's responsibility is it? I mean it's not like he asked for it. He's a werewolf, not a batman. His fur doesn't come with any responsibilities."

"But he's the only one who can do something about it!"

"Well, there's Derek."

"…."

"And I thought Allison's family were hunters. Why aren't they hunting the alpha? It's their job right?"

"I've seen Scott change and…it's scary. If the alpha is as strong as Derek says it is, no human can stop it…I still don't trust Derek so the only person I can depend on is Scott! Who, may I remind you, is running around God knows where with a girl!"

"Give him a break- Hey? Where are we going?" Elie asked as Stiles as she noticed that they weren't heading home.

"We're going to Lydia's place." Stiles answered as a matter-of-factly.

"What? Why?"

"To see how she's doing, and to find out what she saw last night. You can wait in the car."

_Great_, Elie thought.

* * *

"So, how was Lydia?" Elie asked Stiles as he climbed back into his Jeep.

"…she's high on pills." Stiles answered as he turned the ignition.

"Oh…um, were you able to get anything out of her?" When Elie asked, Stiles hesitated for a moment and then handed her a phone and said,

"Play the file."

Elie opened the file, and saw a huge black silhouette jumping through the window. Staring into the close-up shot of a monster with red glaring eyes, Elie whispered,

"Is this what Scott looks like when he changes?"

"No, he just gets this wolf-looking face and really sharp claws."

"Oh. So he's more of Michael Jackson then." Elie muttered to herself.

"What are you talking about? What Michael Jackson?"

"Thriller."

"Oh, yeah. But Scott in wolf-form is scary. He doesn't sing and dance, he tries to rip you apart."

"Hmmmmm, what did Lydia say?"

"That she saw a mountain lion."

"This is NOT a mountain lion."

"I know."

When they got home, Elie sat down on Stiles' bed and watched him pace around his room. He grabbed his phone and ranted to Scott's voicemail.

"Hey it's me again. Look, I found something and I don't know what to do…okay? So if you could turn your phone on, right now? That'd be great. Or else, I'll kill you. Do you understand me? I'm gonna kill you. And I'm too upset to come up with a witty description about how exactly I'm going to kill you but I'm just going to do it. Okay? I'm gonna- ughhhn! …Goodbye."

Stiles threw down his phone in frustration, and sat on his chair and buried his head in his arms when their father came to the door.

"Hey, Dad,"

"Hey, Elie…Stiles, Please tell me I'm gonna hear good news at this parent-teacher thing tonight." The Sheriff looked at Stiles pleadingly.

"Well, it depends on how you define good news" Stiles stalled.

"I define it as you getting straight A's with no behavioral issues?"

"You might want to rethink that definition" Stiles answered, looking guilty.

"Enough said" and with that the sheriff trudged off.

As soon as the sheriff left the room, Stiles looked at his phone and muttered,

"Come on Scott, where the hell are you?"

"What should I do with this?" He turned around and asked Elie.

"Um, I don't know….but it's not like we can figure out who it is, I mean what it looks like in its human form from _this_. So it's not exactly helpful is it? It does confirm that the alpha was responsible for killing the guy, but you know, that's about it."

"Yeah…." Stiles looked at the file again for the last time and then deleted it. He stood up and stormed out of the room with a determined look on his face. Elie quickly followed him down to the shriff's study.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to figure things out," said Stiles as he rummaged through his father's files.

Elie followed him as he walked back to his room, his arms full of documents and files. He sat down on his bed and began to go through the documents in silence, so she lay down next to him and picked up one of the paper. It was an incident report for the fire at the Hale residence.

"Stiles?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because someone has to. I can't fight the alpha like Scott, but I can try and figure out who the alpha is and stop him…well, get Scott to stop him from killing more people." Stiles answered without taking his eyes off the paper.

It slowly dawned on Elie that he might be doing this to protect their father, who was investigating the murders. If they could figure out who the alpha was, may be they could stop it from attacking more people and more importantly, their father won't have to face the beast. She shuddered as she remembered the red glaring eyes and threatening fangs of the alpha that she saw earlier that day. _How do you fight the werewolves anyway?_

* * *

**Thank you for reading and for your reviews :)**


	9. Teenage Wasteland 8

#8

Elie and Stiles were watching the _Sherlock _DVD Elie had borrowed from Hannah, when the Sheriff got home from the parents-teacher conference. Hearing his footsteps, Elie paused the DVD player to ask him how the conference went but she stopped when she noticed him limping.

"Dad? What happened?! Are you okay?"

The Sheriff sighed and explained the ruckus caused by a mountain lion that had strayed into the school parking lot, and how he had been hit by a car. The twins rushed to fuss over him and Stiles lifted up his father's jacket and shirt to check the wound. The Sheriff's back was bruised and swollen. When Stiles poked at his father's back, the Sheriff winced and slapped his son's hands away.

"Did you go to the hospital?" Elie asked.

"No, I'm fine. It was just a bump"

"You were hit by a CAR, Dad!"

"I'll go in the morning, if the pain gets worse," said the Sheriff as he pulled down his shirt and gently pushed the twins away to sit down on the couch. Wincing as he did so, he sank into the seat, leaned back and closed his eyes. The twins looked at each other, and then down at their dad, who looked tired and worn out. Ever since the police had found the dead girl in the woods, the Sheriff had been working overtime and the strings of murder cases that seemed to go nowhere was stressing him out.

"Well, do you want anything?" Elie asked.

The Sheriff opened his eyes and asked for a glass of whiskey. Elie had been trying to get him to eat healthy and drink less, but looking at how stressed he was, she fetched him a glass without saying anything. When Elie handed the Sheriff his drink, he winced in pain as he sat up and took the glass.

"Thanks, princess"

"Are you sure you don't have to go to the hospital?"

"I got it checked by the EMTs so it's okay. My spine is fine…it's just some muscle pain. Don't worry, I'm fine."

Elie wasn't convinced but didn't press on as the Sheriff looked too exhausted. She glanced at Stiles who was unusually quiet. She had expected him to pester for more details of the incident, but all he asked the Sheriff was whether he was SURE that it was a mountain lion.

"Well, yeah, it was shot dead right in front of me."

After that, Stiles clammed up with a stern look on his face and the Sheriff also zoned off (probably thinking about the on-going murder cases) so Elie sat down next to her father and grabbed a remote to play the DVD. Elie stared blankly at TV screen as she thought about what Stiles had said earlier_. I can't fight the alpha like Scott, but I can try and figure out who the alpha is and stop him. _She also couldn't get the image of the alpha, with its glaring red eyes and the fangs, out of her mind. Elie thanked God it was a mountain lion and not the alpha that had caused the commotion tonight. She hugged her father's arm tight and rested her head on his shoulder.

Beacon Hills was a quiet place with low crime rate. Elie had never really worried about her father doing his job. But now that she knew what was lurking in the dark, she began to fear the dangers her father could face out there. _He was a great cop, but werewolves?_ She thought Stiles was being harsh on Scott by expecting him to protect everyone else from the alpha but she realised that her brother was right.

* * *

"Stay away from Allison, stay away from Allison…stay awa–"

"Ow! Watch where you're – Scott?!" Elie stopped mid-sentence when she realised who had bumped into her.

"Sorry, sorry…" Scott apologised as he quickly picked up the books Elie had dropped.

"It's okay…so, how's avoiding Allison going?"

"Um, it's harder than I thought…"

For the past few days, Elie had been caught in the middle as Stiles refused to talk to Scott ever since the parent-teacher conference. Elie knew her brother wasn't angry at Scott, just upset because he wasn't taking this alpha situation seriously. The Sheriff getting hurt added to his frustration. At home, Stiles had been unusually quiet, and he was holed up in his room, his head buried in the documents and the old newspapers.

"Um, is Stiles still mad?"

"He's not mad…he's just sulking."

Scott sighed. _And all because I spent one glorious day with Allison_. He was in trouble with his mum, Allison's parents, the teachers, and Stiles, but the memory of Allison's touch and kiss made it all worth it. _Well, almost, _thought Scott.

"Just give him time, and he'll come around," said Elie and patted Scott on the shoulder to comfort him before heading off to her class.

* * *

"So I guess you boys are talking again," said Elie as she sat down next to Stiles on the bleachers. He had texted her to come out to the field during their free period. Her brother was rummaging through his lacrosse gear bag.

"Now, put this on" said Stiles as he handed something to Scott.

"Isn't this one of those heart rate monitors for track team?"

"I borrowed it."

"You stole it."

"Temporarily misappropriated it. Coach uses it to monitor his heart rate with his phone while he jogs"

"Isn't that Coach's phone?"

"THAT I stole."

Stiles hypothesised that Scott's transformation had something to do with his heart rate, so he had "borrowed" the heart monitor and "stolen" Finstock's phone to monitor Scott's heart rate to train Scott so he can control his heart rate and maybe his transformation.

"Like the incredible Hulk!" said Scott. Elie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, kinda like the incredible Hulk"

"I'm like the incredible Hulk!"

"Would you shut up and put the strap on?"

When Scott had put on the heart monitor, Stiles told him to stand in the middle of the field and put his arms behind his back. Stiles taped Scott's arms together with an adhesive tape, handed Finstock's phone to Elie and told her to stand back. He walked few meters away from Scott and asked,

"Right? Ready?"

"No."

"Remember, don't get angry…Elie, turn on the monitor"

"Ready" Elie said as she opened the app. As soon as she said it, Stiles began pelting Scott with the lacrosse balls.

_Thud_!

"Ughhhhnnnn…."

"114, 115" Elie counted as Scott's heart rate slowly climbed up.

Stiles continued to throw the balls and he seemed to be enjoying himself, unlike Scott who was wincing in pain.

_Thud!_

"Oww…okay that one….kinda hurt!"

"Quiet! Remember, you're supposed to be thinking about your heart rate. About staying calm."

"Stay calm….staying calm….staying totally calm, no ball is flying at my fa-" Scott chanted as he lightly jumped up and down.

_Thud!_

_Thud!_

_Thud!_

"Awww! Son of a bitch!" Scott cried out when the ball hit him near his crotch.

"You know what, I think my aim's actually improving!"

"I wonder why" Scott grumbled.

"129…..130…" Elie announced as the monitor continued to beep. She wondered at what point Scott would begin to change and whether Stiles had a plan for when Scott actually lost control and turned wolf.

"Ah bab bab! Don't get angry!" warned Stiles as he continued to pelt Scott.

"Um…Stiles? Stiles!" Elie shouted and showed the monitor to Stiles which was peaking 160. Stiles immediately stopped and Scott was crouched down on the field moaning.

"Scott?"

He seemed to be in pain, but Elie just guessed that he was trying to stop his transformation. Scott ripped the tape and began to claw at the ground.

"Scott, calm down! You've got to bring down your heart rate!" shouted Elie but wondered how the hell you did that. _Lie down and take a deep breath?_ Not knowing what to do, she knelt down next to him and gently rubbed his back to calm him down. To their relief, Scott's heart rate gradually began to go down.

"Scott, you began to change…" said Stiles.

"The anger…it's more than that. It's like angrier I got, stronger I felt."

"So, it is anger than. Derek's right." _Of course he's right, he's a frigging werewolf!_ Elie thought to herself but didn't say anything.

"I can't be around Allison"

"Just because she makes you happy?"

"No, because she makes me weak."

* * *

Elie's mind wondered away as she sat in her Chemistry class. She was thinking about what Scott had said earlier. Does love or emotions make werewolves weak? Is that why Derek is alone? _Hang on_, she thought_ I don't know for sure that he's single. He just happens to be alone whenever I see him. Not that I've seen him around that much. _She remembered the way he smiled at her in the diner. She felt giddy but it had been one of those polite smiles, so she was pretty sure he had no feelings towards her. And the other day at the Animal Clinic, he didn't say anything to her. No 'hello' or anything. Well, he did encourage Stiles to tell Elie the truth about the werewolves. But that was it. _Why the hell did he give me his number then?_ Elie's brows furrowed as she sat there blankly staring at her Chemistry text book. Does HE turn into a creature with glaring eyes and fangs like the alpha? From what she's been told, Scott can't but Derek was born a werewolf so maybe he can go wolf all the way.

"Miss Stilinski, I see that you share your brother's enthusiasm in highlighting but as I told your brother, this is Chemistry not colouring book."

Elie was yanked back to reality by Harris, and realised that she had been highlighting half the page while her brain was on auto-pilot. She put away her highlighter and glanced at the clock. It was only half passed two. Elie sighed and tried to concentrate on Harris' voice and the chemical equations on the black board.

When the bell finally rang, Jessie turned around to ask Elie if she wanted to check out the new gelato place with her. Elie agreed and quickly sent a text message to her brother to let him know that she won't be going home with him.

Elie followed Jessie to her car, which was a white 2004 Honda Pilot. As they headed for the mall where the gelato shop had opened in, they drove passed the Animal Clinic and Elie remembered how Derek had nearly died and miraculously recovered from a bullet wound the other night. She remembered walking right up to him and helping him tie a rubber band around his arm_. I can't believe I did that, _she thought. If she wasn't freaking out, she'd felt too giddy to go near him, but at the time she was more concerned about him dying than feeling embarrassed or nervous.

"Hey, Elie"

"Hmm…?"

"We're here" Jessie seemed puzzled by Elie, who seemed to zone off more frequently than usual. They walked over to the gelato shop which was furnished in white and gold, and sat down on one of the round white table with their gelato. The shop interior was elegant but they agreed that the gelato was average. Jessie scooped up some of Elie's pistachio flavoured gelato and she offered her Chocolate Chip gelato to Elie. As they ate their gelato, they talked about random things but Jessie kept falling silent, and Elie realised that her friend was trying to give her an opportunity to open up. So Elie took a deep breath and asked what had been on her mind for a while.

"Um….have you, you know like….ever had a crush on someone?"

"Um, not lately. Why? Do you?"

"Um…I might. I'm not sure. I think so…I mean…."

Jessie raised an eyebrow but she didn't say anything so Elie explained how she had met a guy, leaving out the werewolf and the nearly dying part. When she told Jessie about the phone number, she asked, "Did you call him?"

"No! What would I say? I mean…he's like twenty something."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Um…because the guy that I've been talking about is Derek Hale."

"Wait, that name rings a bell…"

"His family died in a fire six years ago."

"Ah…okay, keep going"

"Why do you think he gave me his number?"

"How should I know? May be he wants to get to know you?"

"Why? I don't think I'm his type!"

"How you do you know that?"

"I'm sixteen. I don't think a normal twenty something year olds go for sixteen year olds."

"You never know," Jessie grinned and asked her to continue, "Tell me more about him."

"Um…all I know is his name and approximate age…I really don't know much about him" _In fact, I know nothing about him at all. Except that he is a werewolf. But then again, I might be one of the few people who knows what he really is._

"What does he look like?"

"Tall, dark hair, green eyes, oh…and he has a tribal looking tattoo on his back…"

"Hang on, how can you possibly know about the tattoo?"

"Um…he took his shirt off," Jessie nearly spit out her gelato when Elie told her. Elie quickly explained that he had to take it off because he had spilt something on it.

"I don't know what to do. What do I do?"

"Call him"

"I don't want to sound stupid."

"Then don't call"

"You're not helping Jessie!"

* * *

"I'm home!" Elie yelled as she walked through the front door. She was in the kitchen grabbing something to drink when Stiles ran up to her and started babbling on about Scott and something about an anchor.

"What? Slow down…what anchor?"

"Allison, she's Scott's anchor! She doesn't make him weak! She gives him control," said Stiles and continued to explain what happened in the Economics class. Elie wondered if Derek had an anchor too, and couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealously and sadness at the thought of him having someone. _God, I've got to stop this_…thought Elie as she gulped down the orange juice.

* * *

"Wait, where are you going?" Elie yelled out as Stiles ran down the stairs after getting a call from someone.

"I have to go down to the Animal Clinic,"

"What? Why?" Elie followed him down the stairs.

"Um…to pick up Scott and take him to school" Stiles reluctantly answered as he darted around the house looking for something.

"Why?"

"…..He's going to call the alpha."

"WHAT?! Why would he do that?"

"To prove that his boss isn't the alpha…Derek suspects him or something"

"But why school?"

"Um…he's going to use the PA system. Where's the flash light?"

"It's in the cupboard, middle shelf…hang on I'll get my jacket." Elie was about to turn around to go up to her room when Stiles grabbed her arm and said,

"You're not coming."

"Oh, Yes I am!" Elie started to get angry. They are NOT going to leave her out of this.

"No you're not. Not with that knee. Elie, the alpha is like the most badass of the werewolves and we're going to be luring him in. Wolves are predators. Its instinct is to go for the babies or injured prey which means that if the alpha does turn up, you're going to be its primary target." Stiles calmly explained.

"Well, if I'm not there, then you'll be the target."

"Yeah, I know, but if you're there too it means that there are two targets. And I can run. You can't. If the alpha does turn up, Derek can fight the alpha and Scott can protect me. But if you're there, Scott will have to protect the two of us. And because you can't run properly with that knee, you'll put all of us at risk."

Her brother's explanation seemed reasonable so Elie didn't know what to say.

"It's because of my knee? It's not because I'm a girl."

"Of course."

"When my knee heals completely I get to go after werewolves with you guys."

"Um…yes." Stiles answered yes for now. He hated the idea of putting his sister in danger but right now, he wanted to convince her to stay home.

"Okay. And Stiles?" Elie reluctantly agreed to stay home but she laid out one condition. "You call me every fifteen minutes to let me know what's going on."

"Uh…okay, Princess whatever you say," said Stiles as he grabbed his things and ran out the door.

* * *

Elie paced around the living room and glanced at the clock. They should be at school by now, she thought and looked at her phone. She figured her brother had conveniently forgotten about calling her every fifteen minutes so she called him instead.

"Hello? I told you to call Stiles!"

"Sorry, um…nothing's happening right now anyway. Scott's just about to do his howl," said Stiles as he put her on speaker phone so Elie could hear Scott's howl. She was waiting for a howl when she heard something yowling instead. It sounded like a cat.

"Um….was that Scott?" Elie asked when the yowling ended.

"Yup…."

"Was that okay? I mean it was a howl right?" Scott asked.

"Technically…"

"What did it sound like to you?"

"Like a cat being choked to death, Scott."

"What do I do? How am I supposed to do this?"

"Hey, hey, listen to me. You're calling the alpha. Alright? Be a man. Be a werewolf, not a teen-wolf. Be a werewolf."

Listening to the boys over the phone, Elie wondered what the hell he meant by all that but it seemed to work, as the second howl sent shivers down Elie's spine. _Was that really Scott?!_

"Look, Elie, we'll let you know if something happens, okay?" Stiles said as he and Scott excitedly talked about how awesome his howl was, and hung up.

Stiles agreed to call if anything happened but Elie wasn't convinced. She sighed. She wondered which was worse. Not knowing what's going on, or knowing what's going on but not being able to do anything. She hated waiting. She paced around the room feeling nervous. The boys seemed to have forgotten that they were calling out the alpha. She knew Derek would be there but would he be able to protect the boys from the alpha? _How do you fight it anyway? Silver and wolfsbane?_ She wondered if there was a grain of truth in all the folklore and mythologies.

After pacing around the room for few minutes, not knowing what to do, she called her brother again. When he didn't answer, she began to freak out. She ran into her father's study and rummaged through the drawers looking for a silver letter opener. It was the only piece of silver in the house that she could use as a weapon. She also grabbed her father's spare car key and ran out the door. She knew she was being stupid because she knew she was just a piece of meat walking on two legs to the alpha, but she refused to sit there and fret while the boys faced him.

* * *

**A/N Thank you for reading and your reviews! I really appreciate every one of them!**


	10. Teenage Wasteland 9

#9

Elie got into her father's car, but before starting the car, she took a deep breath and called her brother again. Maybe she was over-reacting. This time, the call went straight to his voicemail. She was about to try Scott but she remembered that Derek had wrecked Scott's phone. She looked through her contact list and stared at Derek's number. She actually had a legitimate reason to call him now. She took another deep breath and pressed the 'call' button. Her heart was beating so fast but when the dial tone finally stopped and it also went to his voicemail, her heart sank. She was now convinced that something had happened down at the school, so she turned the ignition and sped out of the drive way.

* * *

As she drove along the dimly lit street, she tried not to think of what might be happening to the boys. She hoped that she WAS over-reacting and that they didn't answer the phone because they were simply fooling around. Maybe Stiles left his phone in his car, or the school office. Or maybe his battery is dead. And Derek's too.

When she realised that the chances of both of them leaving their phones in the car or the battery dying were slim, she slammed her foot down on the pedal. If she gets a ticket, she was going to make Stiles pay the fine. _He promised he'd call!_ Elie was fuming at her brother when she noticed a strange sound coming from the hood. She remembered her dad saying something about the engine problem.

"No, no, no, no…please don't die on me! At least take me to school and then break down! PLEASE!" Elie yelled in desperation and slowed down a little. Ignoring Elie's pleas, the noise only got louder and when it started smoking, she had to stop. _I don't have time for this!_ Elie thought as she got out and opened the hood. Coughing and staring at the smoking engine, she thought of calling her dad but decided not to. How was she going to explain about the boys being at school with Derek? And with the possibility of an alpha running around she didn't want her dad anywhere near school. So she got her phone out and scrolled through the contact list until she found the mechanic's number.

"Bobby? Thank God, you answered the phone! I'm stranded and I need to you to come out and fix my Dad's car….I know you don't do after-hours service but PLEASE, PLEASE! This is an emergency! I need to get to school, like, right now….Bobby, please! Next time you come to the diner, your meal and coffee will be on me, so please?...What? Okay, okay. A meal, coffee and a pie. I promise."

Elie quickly told Bobby her location and hung up. She thought of leaving the car and getting to school by foot, but she couldn't just leave her dad's car in the middle of the road. And walking around when an alpha might be lurking around didn't seem like a good idea. _None of this is a good idea_, she thought. She should have insisted on going with them, or stopped them from doing this. Bobby, please hurry up, she pleaded as she waited for the mechanic to arrive.

* * *

As she stood beside the smoking car on a dark empty road, she began to bite her nails. It was a habit that she had kicked, or at least she had thought she had, when her mother passed away. She had no idea when she started doing it, but whenever she was under stress, she would blank out and bite her nails. It got worse as her mother's health deteriorated and on the day she passed away, Elie sat in the hospital lobby, biting her nails until she was bleeding. She hadn't realised that she had bit through the skin until Melissa stopped her. Her dad had cried as he stroked and kissed her fingers, telling her that everything will be okay. After that, every time she bit into her nails she remembered the look on her dad's face when he saw her bloodied fingers, and eventually she found another way to deal with her stress. So when she realised she had been biting her nails again, she stopped and shoved her hands deep in her pockets.

* * *

After the agonizing twenty-minute wait Bobby finally arrived and after taking a quick look at the car he shook his head and said "She's gone, Elie. I'll have to take her back to the garage."

"Um…can you drop me off at school?"

"You're not going home?"

"Stiles is there…"

She tried calling Stiles again as she waited for Bobby, who was now getting ready to tow the car back to his garage. She cursed when the call went straight to voicemail. She tried Derek too just in case, but with no luck. When Bobby said he was ready, she quickly turned around and hopped into his truck. Every minute seemed like an hour and it seemed to take them forever to get to school, but as they got closer, Elie was relieved, if only for a brief moment, at the absence of sirens and the police cars. Or the howling.

As far as she could tell from the outside, the school looked empty. Bobby seemed concerned as he was aware of the murders around Beacon Hills.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off at your house?"

"Yup, the boys are here…look," said Elie as she pointed at Stiles' Jeep in the parking-lot.

She thanked Bobby and promised him his free meal, coffee, and a pie and got off. She watched him drive away and jogged towards the parking-lot.

* * *

In the empty parking-lot, she walked towards Stiles' Jeep and another car which she assumed was Derek's. When she got closer, she realised not only that the cars were empty, but also that the other car was in fact, Jackson's. Elie looked around, wondering what the hell Jackson was doing here, and where Derek was. _Maybe the alpha turned up and Derek drove them away somewhere safe_, Elie hoped. There was no one anywhere near the parking-lot as far as she could see, and she couldn't hear anything either. She walked around the Jeep not knowing what to do, when she noticed the claw marks on the hood. Her heart sank at the sight of them and her knee became weak.

Elie panicked as she was now convinced that something had happened to the boys and the alpha had turned up. She got her phone out to call for help but she dropped it, and it was then that she saw what looked like a splatter of blood on the concrete. Elie freaked out and with her shaking fingers, she quickly picked up her phone and called her dad. She didn't want him near alpha but if something had happened to Stiles and Scott, she had to call him for help. Elie cursed out loud when her dad's phone also went straight to voicemail. She didn't know what else to do so she left her dad a rambling message.

"Um, Daddy, it's Elie…I came to school to check up on the boys…..and Stiles' Jeep is all mangled and I don't know where the boys are and….I really really need you right now, so if you get this, please come to school."

May be he was in a meeting. _What do I do? What do I do?_ Elie looked around in panic, and saw something near the front door of the main building. When she got closer, she realised that it was one of her dad's tools that Stiles must have taken to break into the school building. When she tried the handle, the door opened. She looked at the dark empty corridor and took a deep breath as she quietly entered the building. Elie slowly tiptoed through the hallway holding her phone in front of her a flash light, and tightly gripping the silver letter opener like a dagger in her other hand. She wished she had something better than a letter opener. Maybe an axe…but it had to be silver right? Cutting it with axe will probably make it angrier…but then again, poking it with a silver letter opener might have the similar effect. _Stiles, Scott, Where the hell are you!?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she thought she heard footsteps. Elie stopped walking and held her breath, and she heard it again. Hoping that it was one of the boys, she tiptoed towards the echoing footsteps.

* * *

"Scott?" Elie called out when she realised who it was.

"Elie? What are you doing here?" asked Scott in a frantic whisper.

"Where's Stiles? He wasn't answering his ph-" Elie began to raise her voice and in panic, Scott put his hand over her mouth and shushed her.

"Sorry…I got worried." Elie whispered. For a moment, Scott looked as if he didn't know what to do but he told her to go up to the chemistry room where Stiles was hiding with Allison and others.

"What's Allison and them doing here?"

"I'll explain later, just run…wait! No! Stay with me." Scott changed his mind as he realised that leaving Elie alone when he wasn't exactly sure where the alpha was might put her in danger. He explained to Elie that he was looking for the janitor's keys so they could escape to the roof and then down the fire escape to the parking-lot.

"Um, okay…so Stiles is okay, right?"

"Yup. For now…what IS that?" Scott asked as he looked down at Elie's hand.

"Um…a silver letter opener."

"A letter opener? You were going to attack a werewolf with a letter opener?"

"Silver. It was the only silver I could think of. What IS that?"

"Um…a self-igniting Molotov cocktail Lydia cooked up…."

"Lydia? Really?"

Scott shushed her again, as he began to sniff the air. He walked towards the gym, and motioned Elie to follow him. She tiptoed behind him and followed him into the empty gym. The alpha was nowhere in sight but Scott seemed nervous. He turned around and told Elie to "stay close." She nodded and stood right behind him as he walked towards the bleachers, which had been pulled out. They walked under the bleachers and when Scott suddenly stopped, Elie walked into him. He was looking up at something so she also looked up and saw the janitor's bloodied and life-less body jammed into the metal frame of the bleachers like a broken marionette doll. She covered her mouth just in time to stop herself from screaming. She quickly looked away. Scott handed Elie the beaker, and climbed up to reach for the keys that were hanging from the janitor's belt. As he was reaching for the keys, Elie noticed that the bleachers were moving. She frantically whispered at Scott to hurry, who grabbed the keys and jumped down. He grabbed the beaker from Elie and they both ran out just in time as the bleachers completely closed up. Elie was still shocked at discovering the janitor's body, so she was staring at the bleachers and didn't notice the alpha until Scott had pushed her behind him.

The blurry figure Elie had seen few days ago on a phone was standing in the middle of the gym, in front of her, growling at them. Elie felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

"Elie, stay back and run for it okay?" Scott whispered at Elie without taking his eyes of the alpha. Elie whispered "okay" and looked towards the door. Will she be able to make it?

"Come and get me" said Scott, as the alpha charged toward him. As soon as the alpha was in range, Scott threw the beaker which broke on its head, but all it did was just shatter and drench the beast. In panic, Scott turned around and yelled "Run!" as he pushed Elie's towards the door. She began to run but stopped when she realised that Scott wasn't behind her. He had been dragged by his ankle and was thrown across the gym floor by the alpha, which was now on top of him.

"Elie! Run!" Scott kept yelling at her to get away but she couldn't move. Half out of fear and half out of concern for Scott. She couldn't just leave him like this, she thought as she tightened her grip on the letter opener. She regretted not thinking about the axe when choosing her weapon. Never mind it not being silver, an axe would have given her more confidence than this little piece of pointed silver.

The alpha kept its claws on top of Scott to hold him down, but it stared at Elie with its red glaring eyes. Scott continued to scream at her to get away, but instead she ran towards the alpha. She was not going to run away. I'm dead anyway if it catches me. As she charged towards the alpha, holding her pitiful weapon in front of her with both hands, it swung its arm around with a full force that it hit Elie in the face and knocked her to the bleachers. With a thud, she hit the bleachers and fell on the ground. She felt a sharp pain run through her body, and for a second she couldn't breathe as the impact of the hit and the fall knocked the wind out of her.

As she struggled to get back up, the alpha let out a loud and harrowing howl. She blocked her ears and when it finally stopped, she looked up and realised that the alpha had gone. She looked around but there was only Scott who was thrashing around the floor in pain. She had no idea what was going on, but she ran towards Scott. She stopped when he glared at Elie and warned her through his gritted his teeth.

"…..get…..away…..from me!"

"But, Scott!" _I can't leave him like this….and the key! I have to get the key! _Elie thought but she stopped when she saw his eyes glow and he almost growled as he continued to warn her.

"GET…..AWAY….NOW!"

Elie really didn't want to leave, but realising that there was nothing she can do to help him, she ran out of the gym, through the hallway and ran all the way to the chemistry room without turning around to see if anyone was following her. When she finally got to the chemistry room, she tried to open the door but it was jammed. She banged on the door, and yelled out for her brother.

"Stiles! It's me! Open up! Hurry!"

She heard frantic argument behind the door, and heard something heavy being dragged away and the door was opened just enough for her to slide into safety. As soon as she got through, she helped Stiles and others put the desk against the door.

"What are you doing here? You promised you'd stay home!" Stiles yelled at Elie after barricading the door.

"Well, you promised you'd call!" Elie snapped. When she turned around Stiles realised that there was blood on her face.

"You're bleeding!" Stiles grabbed Elie's arms and began to turn her this way and that to make sure she wasn't bleeding from anywhere else. When he was sure that she wasn't seriously hurt, he gently tucked her stray strands of hair behind her ears and looked into her face.

"What? Um…I…must have cut my lip when…eh…I slipped." She struggled out of his grip and wiped her lips with her sleeve.

"Did you see Scott?" Allison asked. Elie couldn't tell her about what happened at the gym so she bit her lip and shook her head. Allison seemed beside herself with worry but what could she tell her? That Scott was a werewolf and that he might go berserk and come after them?

Looking at Elie's pale face and the way she was trembling, Stiles knew she had seen more than she was telling. He hugged her shoulder and thanked God she was okay. _Well, okay for now. Come on Scott, get the keys_, thought Stiles.

Then they suddenly heard a click. Elie twitched in fear, and Stiles tightened his grip. Meanwhile Allison moved the barricade and tried the door, and freaked out when she realised that it had been locked. She frantically tried the handle, and screamed for Scott. She only stopped when Lydia yelled at her to stop.

"Do you hear that?"

It sounded like the police siren. They all rushed towards the window and saw several police cars pulling into the school parking-lot. Even Stiles, who did not want to involve his dad in this werewolf business looked relieved.

* * *

"Are you sure it was Derek?" asked the Sheriff.

"Yes, I saw him too" When Stiles answered, Elie raises her eyebrow at her brother. He shook his head slightly, as if to say 'not now.' She was puzzled. _Was Derek the alpha? What the hell was going on?_

"What about the janitor?"

"We're still looking"

"Did you check under the bleachers? Under them!"

"Yeah, Scott, we looked. We pulled them out just like you asked. There's nothing."

"I'm not making this up!"

"No, I believe you, I do."

"You don't. You have this look like you feel bad for me, like you wanna believe me but I know you don't"

"Listen, we're going to search this whole school and we'll find him. Okay? I promise. And Elie, you get checked by the EMTs"

"No, Dad, I'm fine, it's just a cut lip…"

"Well, get that cut checked out," the Sheriff insisted and as he was called away by another officer, he stopped the boys from walking off.

"Stay, Both of you. And you, princess, GO."

Elie wanted to stay with the boys and ask them about Derek, but she decided it could wait. She sighed and dragged her feet across the parking-lot towards the ambulance. Now that the fear was draining away, she began to feel pain everywhere. Her knee, shoulder, arm and face. She found Scott's boss sitting in the ambulance, getting his wounds treated by an EMT. She hung around not knowing what to do when the EMT turned around and told her to sit next to the vet. As she was getting her wound cleaned, the EMT asked her whether she had any other injuries.

"No. I just slipped."

The EMT continued to check out her arms, shoulders, and legs by poking around. Elie winced when he touched her shoulder. He told her what she had already suspected, that the injuries weren't serious, and all that she'll have are bruises and bumps. As her cut lip was being treated, the boys came over to the ambulance and they seemed shocked by the vet's presence. When he realised that the boys were staring at him, he smiled at Scott and thanked him for saving his life. Before they could say anything, the Sheriff walked over and dragged the boys away.

Elie sat in the back of ambulance feeling confused while the EMT put cleaned the cut and put ointment and dressed her wound. _I thought Derek suspected Scott's boss of being the alpha…why is Derek being blamed for this? And what was Scott's boss doing here anyway? How did Scott manage to turn back? Would he have really tried to harm us? What did the alpha want? Why didn't it kill me? Where did it go?_ As these questions popped up one after another in Elie's head, she realised that she had been biting her nails again.

* * *

**A/N: Nearly there, 5 more episodes to get through! I promise there will be some Derek/Elie before the end of S1. Anyways, as always, thank you for reading, following, and reviewing my story...you lovely people! I'm sorry I can't update more than once a week, but I promise to update every week at least once until I'm through with S1. As for S2, and S3...well, we'll see how it goes. ;)**

**xx**


	11. Teenage Wasteland 10

#10

Elie was jogging along the deserted road. Her heart was pumping hard and sweat rolled down her face. Thick fog began to roll in from the woods and soon the road was completely covered with the thick milky mist. It was so dense that she couldn't see where she was going anymore. She slowed down and looked around, clutching her side as she gathered her breath. Elie was startled but continued to walk towards what she believed or hoped was the right way. Fogs were common in Beacon Hills but she had never seen anything like this. It was like walking through the clouds. She took her earphones out, rolled it up and put them into her pocket. All Elie could hear were her own breathing and her pounding heartbeat. No birds chirping and no branches rustling in the wind. The complete silence added eeriness to the fog, as if someone or _something _was lurking behind the fog.

Elie walked cautiously through the fog and was startled when it suddenly got darker as if the sun had disappeared. She took her iPhone out of the armband to use the flashlight app, and that was when she realised that she had no signal. It was strange because even in the woods, she would have gotten at least one bar and she was on the main road or at least she thought she was. _Maybe she had become disoriented by the thick fog and had wondered into the woods without realising it_. But then again she hadn't walked into a tree so she should still be on the road. She looked down at her feet. She was standing on the grey asphalt which told her that she was still on the main road. Not wanting to risk being hit by a car, she decided to move towards the side of the road. She turned right and walked few steps until she stepped onto a softer ground. She didn't want to stray too far from the road, so she walked between the asphalt and the mulch.

After walking for few minutes, Elie decided to try the GPS system to locate her position and figure out a way home because it didn't look as if the fog would lift anytime soon and she still had no idea where she was going. When she was waiting for the map to open, she heard a noise that made her blood freeze. It was a low pitched growl. Elie slowly turned around but she couldn't see anything, and the growl got nearer and nearer. Her heart was pumping faster and faster as she kept turning to see where the sound was coming from.

It was then that she saw a dark shadow slowly emerging from the fog, and her heart stopped when she saw the two red glints in the fog. Elie turned and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Frantically running through the fog, her foot was caught in something and she fell over. She looked back to see what had tripped her over, and she realised that it was a body covered in blood.

She turned the body around to see who it was. It was the dead janitor. Elie quickly withdrew her hand. Her legs felt like jelly and she couldn't stand up, but she really wanted to get away from it so she began to crawl, and as she did so the fog suddenly cleared. She looked around and realised that there were more bodies strewn around the woods. Her heart stopped and her hands felt numb when she recognised some of them. She couldn't see their faces, but one body was wearing an officer's uniform, and another wearing a familiar looking hoodie and jeans. She desperately made her way towards them and with shaking hands she slowly turned one the body around and saw the deathly pale face of her brother covered in blood. Tears began to stream down her face and she cried out,

"No…..no, no, no, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Elie! Elie, wake up!"

Suddenly, Elie heard her brother's voice and it dawned on her that she had been dreaming. She sat up on her bed and looked around. She was in her room, and in her bed. When she saw Stiles who was very much alive, she immediately hugged him to make sure that it was all a dream and that the brother she was seeing was real. He was stunned by her reaction but hugged her back. He assumed that she was shaken up by what had happened at the school.

When Elie realised that she was hugging her brother, she quickly let go.

"Um…sorry, for waking you," said Elie as she wiped away her tears.

"It's okay but you really freaked me out. I thought something was actually in your room…" he explained and Elie's eyes fell on his baseball bat on the side of her bed.

"It was just a nightmare…I guess," said Elie as she smiled weakly. Stiles rubbed her arm to comfort her and asked again,

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yup….go back to sleep, I'm fine"

After sending Stiles back to his room, Elie sat crouched on the bed and quietly sobbed into her arms. She couldn't stop shaking. _It had felt so real._ She wiped away her tears and she got back under the sheets. She lay on the bed and tried to go back to sleep but she couldn't get the image of the lifeless and bloodied bodies of her dad and brother out of her mind. So she turned on the bedside lamp, grabbed her phone and earphones to listen to music as she lay in the dimly lit room.

#

The school was closed while the police searched the building for missing Janitor but the lacrosse practice was still on, so Elie decided to go.

"I'm fine Coach, I can totally play."

"Are you sure? What happened to your face?" asked the Coach as she pointed at Elie's bruised chin and cut lip.

"….I walked into a door. My knee is okay now, look!" said Elie as she jumped up and down and sprinted on the spot. She wasn't lying about her knee but she was actually sore all over, especially her shoulder. But she really needed to play. She didn't want to have another nightmare like that ever again, and she figured the only way to stop it was to push herself physically and wear herself out completely, so that she would not dream at all when she went to sleep. At first the Coach seemed somewhat hesitant but seeing the pleading look in Elie's eyes, she let her join the practice.

It felt good to be back on field and for a moment, Elie felt happy again despite the sharp pain she felt every time she came in contact with another player. The pain and fatigue was the only way to block out the fear and anxiety she felt about the whole alpha situation.

#

"What do you mean the alpha wants you to get rid of your old pack? And since when are we your _pack_?!" Elie asked Scott who looked miserable. The three of them had gotten together at a local cafe after Elie's practice.

"He…he wants me in his pack. And I guess it's a wolf thing….you can't belong in two packs" Scott explained as he stabbed at his salad with a fork.

"And why blame Derek?"

"Um…I thought he was dead so you know…I didn't think he'd mind…."

"_Really_? How can you do that to him? I thought he was helping you?"

"Hey, Elie why are you taking his side?" Stiles protested.

"I'm not taking anyone's side! Look around Scott, there's alpha running around trying to kill you or turn you in to a murderer, and the hunters are trying to hunt you down and, we can't tell the police because who would believe us? And you betray the only person who can actually help you? You're …."

"Stupid? I know, I know…"

"I was going to say jerk, but hey, that works too."

"Give the guy a break, Elie, he just got dumped…"

"I didn't get dumped! We're taking a break…"

"Isn't that the same thing?" Elie asked as she looked at Stiles who just shrugged.

"No!"

Elie knew that for Scott, getting Allison back was his priority right now, but for her it seemed that the alpha situation was getting more urgent because it was no longer just hiding in the shadows but willing to show itself. _What if Scott refuses to kill his old pack and the alpha decides to do it for him?_ The images from last night's nightmare came into her mind and she literally had to shake it off. Having faced the alpha, even if it was just for a brief moment, Elie knew how hopeless she was, _they all were,_ against this monster. The more she thought about it, they needed Derek. She knew Stiles would flip at the idea but the truth was that Derek was the only one who can help Scott, unless another friendly werewolf decides to drop by at Beacon Hills. She knew Stiles was smart, but there were limits to his help simply because he was not a werewolf. _I mean you can't Google everything right?_

Elie pretended to go to the toilet and sneaked out to the parking-lot and after making sure that the boys were nowhere in sight, she took a deep breath and called Derek. As she listened to the dial tone, she almost wished that it would go straight to voicemail but to her surprise he answered.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Um…it's Elie. I don't know if you remember, but I'm Stiles' sister."

"I remember. What do want? Is something wrong?"

Derek's tone was not hostile but not too friendly or inviting either so she began to immediately regret calling him. But she told herself that she was doing this for Scott and not because she wanted to see or talk to him or anything.

"Um…no, I was actually wondering if you were okay."

"I'm fine."

"Oh….um…good. Um…can…can we talk? Like in person?"

"….."

"Um…if you don't want to, that's fine"

"I can't leave my place…so my place?"

"Um….okay. I'll be there around six."

After hanging up the phone, Elie leaned on the wall and sat down on the footpath because her knees felt weak. Her hands were still slightly shaking. She couldn't help it but she was slightly upset that he didn't sound too pleased to hear from her. _Why give me his number then? _

#

Elie walked through the woods to the Hale house. She couldn't ask Stiles for a ride because he would start asking questions and she didn't want to tell him about this...just yet. So she just told him she was off to see Jessie. It was a long walk to Derek's place but she figured it would be a good way to tire herself out.

By the time she got to the Hale house, she was sweating and her cheeks were red. It was quiet and the house looked empty so she was wondering if she should call to let Derek know that she was here, when he suddenly called out from behind her. She was so startled that let out a scream and dropped the white reusable grocery bag she was carrying.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Derek apologised and knelt down to pick up the contents of the bag.

"You didn't...I was just startled...I'm not scared of you" said Elie as she just gave him a sheepish grin and quickly shoved the muffins, cans of baked beans and spaghetti, and apples that were scattered around the ground into the bag.

"Really?" He grinned.

"Should I be?"

Derek just chuckled and Elie's heart skipped a beat.

When they had picked up everything, Derek led her up to the house and invited her in.

"Um…these are actually for you." Elie said as she followed Derek into the house. He turned around looking puzzled so she quickly explained,

"I thought you might need these, and because you know…you are on the run all because of the boys."

She handed Derek the bag which was full of food.

"…thanks, that was…very thoughtful"

"It's the least I could do…and thank you"

"For what?"

"Not ripping out their heads."

Derek looked down at the bag and then at Elie and smiled. It seemed like a genuine smile and Elie's began to flutter. For a moment she was lost in his smile but she got herself together when she remembered why she was here.

"Um…I know you have every right to be angry at them, but I was hoping you know…you'd stick around and help out Scott."

"….why are you doing this?"

"Because I need you…"

Derek's eyes widened at Elie's answer and she began to turn red as she quickly clarified her statement.

"I mean I need you to help Scott. It's for Scott."

"Do you li-" Before Derek could finish the sentence Elie denied it.

"Ew! No! He's like my brother…He's my best friend.…and I don't want to lose anyone anymore….I'll bring whatever you need, and I'll talk to my Dad about the other night…I don't think he's fully convinced that you had anything to do with it anyway but…I'll….I'll talk to him. And to the boys too. About making it right. So can you please forgive them and help Scott?"

Elie pleaded as she looked at him nervously. She couldn't read his face when he wasn't smiling but his expression softened for a brief moment and he finally said,

"…..okay."

"Really?" Elie's face lit up at his answer but her face fell when she began to tell Derek about Scott.

"I'm really worried about Scott because you know, Allison broke up with him and he's not acting just sad and mopey but ….he's starting to get angry and aggressive….which is totally out of his character so…I thought he might do something during the full moon, you know?"

"I'll keep an eye on him"

"Thank you…um…I think I should get going…If you need anything else, just let me know…" said Elie as she left the Hale house.

"I'll be fine….but thank you" said Derek as he walked Elie out.

Elie hesitated for a moment but took a deep breath and turned around to face Derek and ask him what had been bothering her from day one.

"Um…one more thing…why….why did you give me your number?"

For a moment, Derek looked taken back…it was as if he had forgotten that he had given her his number and Elie's heart sank. The explanation that followed didn't make her feel any better either.

"…I was trying to keep my eye on Scott because it was full moon and I wasn't sure whether he'd go for you or the other girl, and I assumed you knew about the whole werewolf situation so, I thought if I left my number, you'd call me if something happened. I mean, I couldn't be at two places at once…so I left my number and went to the party to keep my eyes on Scott and his other friends…"

"Oh, okay….um…thanks? I guess…um….anyway…I better get going….so…bye" _Aaaaaand this is the end of my crush_, she thought. It felt as if she had been dumped…even though there was nothing between them to be over. She quickly turned around to walk out of the woods when Derek suddenly called out to her.

"Elie!"

Her heart fluttered when she heard him say her name. When she turned around, he smiled and said,

"Thanks for the groceries. And call me if something happens,"

#

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see"

"We really shouldn't be out here. My mom is in a constant state of freak out from what happened at the school."

"Well, your mom isn't the Sheriff okay? There is no comparison, trust me."

"Can you at least tell me what we're doing here?"

"When your best friend gets dumped – "

"I didn't get dumped. We're taking a break."

"Well, when your best friend gets told by his girlfriend that they are taking a break, you get your best friend drunk!" said Stiles as he held up a bottle of Jack Daniels.

They went to their usual place up in the clearing and started a fire in the rusty steel drum. They sat around the fire and passed along the bottle. Stiles was trying hard to cheer Scott up but he seemed preoccupied and as was Elie. She kept thinking about Derek. She had known, even before she asked, that he hadn't given her his number because he was interested in her in any way….but expecting it didn't mean that it hurt less. She told herself it was for the best. It wasn't as if her crush on Derek was going to become more than an unrequited crush. There was no way that he would fall for her…so it was for the best. _I should stop before I fall harder for him_, she thought to herself as she took a swig of the whiskey and handed it to Scott.

Elie hadn't had enough sleep and she had worn herself out with the lacrosse practise and walking over to Derek's, so she got quite tipsy after only few sips. She lay down and looked up at the stars. _So this is what having a crush on some feels like….it sucks_.

She also felt guilty about not telling the boys about what she done today. And she was the one who said no more secrets. She felt like such a hypocrite but she knew Stiles would over-react. _I'll tell them but not just now. I'm waiting for the right moment. So technically it's not a secret. I'll tell them when Derek comes up in our conversation, _she thought to herself.

Elie stared at the night sky, while Scott drank in silence and Stiles rambled on as he chugged down the whiskey. After a while, Stiles also lay down, but he continued to talk in an attempt to cheer up his best friend.

"Dude, she's just one, one girl…you know, out of so many….there's so many other girls in the sea."

"Fish in the sea."

_Stiles was right. Derek isn't the only guy out there. There's like plenty of fish out there._

"Fish? Why are you talking about fish? I'm talking about girls. I love girls. I love them. I love…especially one with strawberry blond hair, green eyes, 5ft 3…"

"Like Lydia?"

_But then again, they aren't Derek._ Elie thought about his smile. And there was something about his eyes that just mesmerised her. And he CAN be nice as she remembered him thanking her for the groceries and telling her to call if something happens. She knew he was just being polite…but his smile made her heart flutter anyway.

"Yeah…Exactly, hey! How did you know I was talking ab – what was I talking about? Hey, you're not happy…take a drink,"

"I don't want anymore, "

"You're not drunk?"

"Not anything."

"Hey it's like…maybe it's like not needing your inhaler anymore you know? Maybe you can't get drunk…..as a wolf. Am I drunk?"

"You're wasted."

"Yeah!" Stiles shouted as he punched the air.

That was when Elie heard the rustling leaves and footsteps. She quickly stood up and looked around. _Shit! What if it was the alpha?_ Her heart was pounding so fast, but when she saw two guys emerging from the woods, who very much looked human, she breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around and looked down at Stiles who continued to ramble on.

"Ow, come on dude, I know it feels bad, I know it hurts…I know but…I don't know…but I know THIS! I know that as much as being broken hurts, being alone is way worse. That didn't make any sense. Hahahaha, drink!"

"What have we here! Look at the three little bitches getting their drink on," said one of the stranger to emerge from the woods. He snatched the bottle from the ground as Stiles was reaching for it. The guy also grabbed Elie's waist and pulled her closer to him. She tried to get out of his grip but he was too strong so she was about to punch him when the other guy grabbed her arms.

"You're a feisty one aren't ya? I like feisty girls" he grinned as he tightened his grips around Elie's arms.

"Let me go!"

Before the boys could react to what was happening, Elie stomped on the foot of a guy who was holding on to her waist and struggled out of his grip when he loosened his grip as pain shot through his foot. Elie kicked the other in his side and pulled her arms back when he let go. Then she quickly ran back to the boys. Stiles put his arms around her and looked at Scott.

"F #$ing bitch!" The guy who had his arm around Elie took a step towards Elie and Stiles but he was cut off by Scott, who stood in front of him. The other guy who had fallen on his knees, stood up groaning in pain. Elie had learned kickboxing so she knew her kick was more than _feisty_.

"Give it back," said Scott as he glared at the guy.

"What's that little man?" the guy who had grabbed Elie and the bottle taunted Scott.

"I think he wants the drink," said the other guy, also in a mocking tone.

"I want the bottle," said Scott without taking his eyes of the guys.

"Scott, maybe we should just go." Stiles was beginning to get concerned because he remembered that anger was the trigger. He wasn't sure if he could stop Scott if he went berserk tonight because Scott was temporarily without his anchor – Allison.

"You brought me out here to get me drunk Stiles, I'm not drunk yet," said Scott in a calm yet tense tone. As if to challenge Scott, the guy took a sip. Scott took a step closer and repeated his request, which was beginning to sound like a threat.

"Give me the bottle."

The guy refused.

"Give, me, the, bottle, of Jack," Scott repeated again but this time it came out like a growl and his eyes began to glint.

"Scott?" Worried that Scott might go wolf right there and then, Stiles called out to him again.

The guy was clearly freaked out by the glint in Scott's eyes, because he handed back the bottle without a word. Scott snatched it out of his hand and threw is as hard as he could towards the woods and the bottle soared through the air and shattered as it hit a tree. Scott glared at the guys again then turned around at the twins and said it was time to go.

"Okay, so please tell me that was because of the break-up, or because tomorrow's the full moon?"

Stiles said as he followed Scott down to the Jeep. Scott didn't say anything and kept going. Elie followed in silence. She had never seen Scott act like that before._ It had to be the full moon right? Or was it part of being a werewolf? Were the werewolf powers changing Scott?_

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading, following and reviewing you lovely people! I realised that the school had been closed for two days following the Night School incident so I've fixed it up a bit...sorry!**


	12. Teenage Wasteland 11

#11

"Hello, it's a beautiful Monday morning! Beacon Hills High School is back open after being closed Thursday and Friday. Police search continues for the alleged killer, Derek Hal –"

Elie slammed her radio clock to turn it off. She felt groggy because she had only a few hours of sleep. Just as she had drifted off to sleep last night, she had the nightmare again. This time, she was able to convince herself the whole time that it was all a dream as she stood in the thick fog. But even when she knew it was all a dream, the sight of two red glowing eyes and the lifeless bodies of her family left her shaken up. After waking up from the nightmare, she had tossed and turned, unable to sleep through the night, and she had finally drifted off to sleep at dawn as she listened to the birds chirping outside.

Dragging herself out of the bed, Elie washed her face with cold water and went down to the kitchen to grab something to drink. As she was gulping down the orange juice, the Sheriff walked in.

"Morning, princess! You look…."

"Like crap?" said Elie as she put the glass down in the sink.

"Tired. Are you okay? Do you need another day off?" said the Sheriff with a look of concern.

"I'm fine Dad. Off to work already?" Elie asked as she grabbed her cereal bowl out of the cupboard.

"Yup, I've got states detective coming in to help with the investigation and we have to talk to the teachers at your school about the whole situation before the class starts so I'm off," he said and started to walk out of the kitchen when Elie called out to him.

"Um…Dad?"

"Yes?" the Sheriff stopped and turned around.

"Be careful out there, okay?" said Elie with a pleading look on her face. The Sheriff was somewhat startled by Elie's concern because he had never seen her get this nervous about him doing his job. He figured it had something to do with what had happened at school the other night so he asked again.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm just….worried about you with all these things going on."

"Elie, is there something you want to talk about? I have to go, so I can't right now but…"

"No Dad, it's nothing…I've just been having a really bad nightmare lately and it's got me… nervous…that's all."

"You know you can tell me anything right?" the Sheriff said as he looked into his daughter's blue eyes.

"I know Dad, thanks" said Elie as she gave her dad a quick hug to show him that she was okay, and gently pushed him out of the kitchen and said,

"Go on Dad, you're going to be late." and smiled. As she walked him to the front door to see him off, the Sheriff stopped before stepping out and said,

"Call me if you need me okay?"

"I will Dad." Elie gave him a smile and waved as he walked towards his car.

"And good luck with the chem test!" The Sheriff shouted out as he got into his car and chuckled when he saw Elie groan at the mention of a chemistry test.

Elie stood in the doorway for a while, watching her dad drive off to work. She closed the door only when his car was completely out of her sight. She had never worried this much about her father before. Beacon Hills had been a quiet place where homicides and other serious crimes were rare but now that she knew about the werewolves, she was beginning to wish that he had a different job. Like an accountant or something. So the only danger that he might face at his job were paper-cuts or butt cramps from sitting at the desk all day. She knew he loved his job, and she was proud of him but she was now scared. Ever since_ that_ night, Elie felt restless and anxious about her Dad doing his job, and she felt a sharp pain in her stomach when she wondered how she was going to convince her Dad that Derek was innocent without telling him about the werewolf and the alpha part. Elie sighed and went upstairs to wake her brother up.

* * *

"Whoa…are you okay?" Elie asked Scott, when she saw him sitting on the corridor outside the cafeteria, banging his head against the wall with his fists all clenched tight. He went completely Hulk and white debris fell around him. She assumed that it had something to do with Jackson sitting with Allison in the cafeteria. She dusted off the white debris off his shoulder and hair, and sat down next to him.

"Where's Stiles?"

"Toilet."

"If it's about Allison, give her some time…I'm sure she'll come around."

"….." Scott didn't say anything.

"You should eat something…" Elie said as she took a bite out of her sandwich.

"I'm not hungry." Scott was still breathing hard and his fist was clenched.

"Look, I don't know her that well, but I don't think she's the kind of a girl that would date her best-friend's boyfriend…so don't worry about Jackson…and he's probably doing this to annoy you anyway. Why would he break up with Lydia?"

"…."

She had never seen Scott like this before and it scared her a little. The fact that he had become a werewolf didn't scare her because honestly, she had no idea how to react to that but…seeing him get this angry scared her. It seemed like the wolf side of him was taking over and the Scott that she knew was fading away. If he had drowned himself in sad love songs like Bryan Adams and moped about Allison in his bed, she would have been less worried. Breaking the wall and looking as if he was ready to knock out anyone who got in his way was so not-Scott that it worried her.

* * *

When Elie was warming up for the lacrosse practice, Stiles ran across the field towards Elie screaming like a maniac and hugged her tight and twirled her around. As he put her down, he explained why he was so excited.

"I'm playing! I made the first line!"

"What?! Really? Oh my God! Yay, you!" Elie gave Stiles a high five.

"Anyway, I have to go," said Stiles as he rushed back to the boys' side of the field. She chuckled at the way he was bouncing around in excitement like a five year old.

"What was that all about?" One of the team mates came up to Elie and asked.

"Um…my brother made the first line," said Elie. She still couldn't believe it but she was proud and she knew her dad would be over-joyed at the news.

So it came as a complete surprise when she found Stiles in a bad mood after the practice. On the way home, he didn't say a word. Elie sat quietly wondering what had happened during the practise. She was busy with her own practise so she had no idea what had happened on the boys' side of the field. She heard from one of the girls that Danny got hurt, but she had no idea why that would affect Stiles' mood.

* * *

As soon as they got home, Elie changed to her gym clothes and grabbed her sports bag with the kickboxing gear in it. On her way out, she dropped by Stiles' room to let him know where she was going.

"Um Stiles, I'm going to the gym…do you want me to pick something up for dinner?"

"No, it's okay. I'll just heat up the leftovers and then I'm heading over to Scott's." Stiles was sticking pieces of black tape over a what looked like a dog's water bowl. He had bought that when he was twelve after finding a stray dog. They got to keep the cute little fox terrier for a few days until the owner showed up. The bowl had been sitting around in Stiles closet all this time and Elie wondered why he was suddenly decorating it or whatever, but she didn't ask. Instead, she asked why he was going to Scott's place.

"Tonight's the full moon." Stiles answered without turning around and ripped a piece of black tape with his teeth.

"Oh…"

"I'm going to lock him up in his room."

"Um…okay…shall I come with you?" when she asked, Stiles stopped what he was doing and turned around.

"_NO!_ I mean no."

"Okay…but this time, call me if something happens." Elie wondered if she should just cancel kickboxing and go with Stiles so she won't freak out like the last time when he fails to call her.

"Promise." said Stiles with a sincere look on his face but she knew he would conveniently forget if he decides that he doesn't want to call her. She hesitated for a moment but remembering that she had Derek this time, she decided to go to the gym. She needed to wear herself out anyway if she was to get any decent amount of sleep. The lacrosse practice hadn't been enough.

* * *

For thirty minutes, she kicked and punched none stop. She was sweating so much that sweat was dripping on to the mat. During the session, she felt like she was about to throw up and her knees felt weak and her arms and legs felt like dead weight but as she pushed through her pain and fatigue, she began to feel the adrenalin and the rush. She loved kickboxing because it made her feel powerful and confident.

She had felt helpless in front of the alpha and she hated that. She also knew that kickboxing would not help her at all in facing the monster, but every time her kick or punch landed in the pads the trainer was holding, it felt good. She knew that her problems weren't going to go away, but right at this moment, she concentrated on every punch and every kick. By the end of the session, Elie was drenched in sweat and she was tired but after a quick hot shower, Elie left the gym feeling refreshed.

As she walked home, she looked up at the dark sky and saw the full moon. She always thought that the full moon was beautiful but now that she knew what it did to Scott, it looked eerie and made her nervous. The dark clouds slithered across the silver moon. She shivered and looked away.

Elie was walking past the parking-lot of the sports store near the gym when she noticed Allison talking to someone in a car. When she got closer, she recognised Jackson sitting in the driver's seat and her heart sank. She panicked when she realised that if Scott saw this, he would go berserk. _I mean he saw them talking in cafeteria and he nearly went Hulk. If he saw this he would probably do something far worse than punch a hole in the brick wall. _

She quickly walked past the car and got her phone out of her pocket to call Stiles. When he answered, she asked him how Scott was doing.

"He's being a complete jerk but I have him cuffed to the radiator."

"With a hand-cuff?"

"Yes,"

"Do you think it'll hold?"

"I was hoping that it would…I don't think he'll let me chain him to the radiator…"

"So he's gone wolf?" Elie asked when she heard Scott screaming and rattling in the background.

"Not yet."

"Well, I'm on my way home so keep me posted. Okay?"

"Okay"

After hanging up, she quickened her pace. She wasn't 100% certain that the hand-cuff would keep Scott locked up in his room so she decided to call Derek. Just in case.

"Hello? It's me, Elie…I'm sorry for calling but it's about Scott…"

"What's he done?"

"Nothing…yet. Stiles has him cuffed to the radiator in his room, but I just saw Allison with Jackson and I was worried because Scott might break free and come for them. I know I sound stupid but I heard him screaming and I don't think a hand-cuff is enough to stop him when he gets angry. And when he sees THIS I know he'll go mental…"

"Where are they? I mean Allison and Jackson."

"Um...the parking-lot in front of the sports store. The one next to the gym." She turned around to make sure that the car was still there.

"Okay. I'll keep my eyes on them."

"Thanks…"

She hung up and wondered if she should stay around…she wanted to see Derek again, but decided not to stay because she thought that she would only get in the way, and besides she didn't want to see Scott go berserk. She didn't want to be scared of Scott, even in his wolf form. _I'll see him when he learns to control it._ So she hurried along, almost jogging towards home when her phone rang. It was from Stiles.

"Elie?! Where are you? I'm picking you up!"

"What? Why? I'm at the end of Fitz Street…what's wrong?"

"Scott's gone!"

"What? When did this happen?"

"Just now…the screaming stopped so I looked in and he was gone!"

Stiles confirmed Elie's location and hung up. Elie looked around the empty street and felt somewhat relieved that she had called Derek. Within few minutes, Stiles picked Elie up and she was sitting safe in his Jeep. Stiles drummed his fingers on the wheel, looking all tense and anxious so Elie was about to explain that she had asked Derek for help. But she stopped when they came across police cars and an ambulance. Stiles slowed down and when he saw a body covered in sheets being carried into the ambulance, he stopped the car and jumped out. Elie quickly got out of the car and followed her brother.

"Dad? Dad?!...Have you seen my Dad?"

Before anyone could answer him, Stiles staggered up to the body and was staring at the charred arm that was hanging out of the sheets in horror. Elie was right behind her brother and she too saw the arm and she began to tremble.

"Stiles? Elie? What are you doing here?"

The wave of relief swept through the twins when they heard their dad's voice and Stiles hugged the Sheriff while Elie stood back holding back her tears. The Sheriff seemed puzzled but hugged back tightly without saying anything, and reached out to hold Elie's hand. She held on tightly. When Stiles finally let him go, Elie explained what they were doing there.

"Stiles was just picking me up from the gym…and we saw the police cars and ambulance so we stopped to see if you were okay, Dad."

"Come here, of course I'm okay." The Sheriff pulled Elie closer and gave her a hug too. He wondered what had gotten into his kids. They had always been snooping around the crime scene out of curiosity but lately they've been jumpy and anxious. Watching his kids like this made him more determined to solve the case and put away the murderer so they could feel safe again.

* * *

On the way home, Stiles said that they should drive around and look for Scott. So Elie finally told him about calling Derek.

"You did WHAT now?"

"I called Derek and asked him to keep his eyes on Scott."

"WHY….and HOW did you do that?"

"BECAUSE he's the only one who can help Scott!"

"But I'M helping!"

"I know, but look what happened tonight!"

"Well, if I'd chained him up…"

"No, I mean Scott needs to learn to control his powers and he needs to learn from a werewolf who actually knows what's going on!"

"…How did you contact him anyway?"

And Elie had to explain how Derek had given her his number at the diner, stressing the fact that he did so in order to keep Scott and everyone around him safe. And leaving out the part about her having a crush on him. She did not want to have that conversation with Stiles right now.

"You're the one who said no more secrets!" Stiles said in an accusing tone.

"Well, we're even now. Besides, I wasn't keeping it a secret…I was kind of waiting for a right moment to tell you."

"Anything else I should know about?"

"I bought him some groceries because you guys made him a fugitive…so you and Scott owe me like 30 bucks each."

Stiles grumbled as he parked his Jeep in their driveway when Elie received a text message from Derek.

[Scott's home safe]

"See? He CAN be nice." said Elie as she showed it to her brother who only grunted.

"Well, I don't trust him yet. Okay?" said Stiles as they walked into their house.

"Look, it's like you and Lydia."

"What the hell are you talking about? Why are you bringing Lydia into THIS?" Stiles asked as he quickly turned around.

"When you see Lydia you see a beautiful, smart, wonderful human being…"

"She is perfect, isn't she?" a dreamy look began to spread across Stiles' face.

"To you, yes. I see a pretty, but pushy Queen Bee okay?"

"But that's because you don't know her like I do!"

"That's the point, Stiles. When you see Derek, you see…"

"A big scary werewolf who constantly tries to rip my head off."

"and I see…someone who can help Scott and someone we can depend on." said Elie. _I just know there's more to him. Life as a werewolf would probably have been hard on him and he's been through a lot, so his tough attitude was understandable._ But he can be kind. Like today. He didn't say much but he kept his promise and kept Scott safe. He even sent her a text, letting her know that he was okay.

* * *

**A/N: While writing this chapter, I realised that the school had been closed for two days following the Night School episode, so I quickly fixed the previous chapter. Sorry about that!**

**Anyways, thank you for reading, following and reviewing my story you lovely people! Thank you to emily and the anonymous 'Guest' for your reviews, without you logging in I can't reply to you directly, so here's my thanks.**

**I wish I could update faster but once a week is all I can manage right now so please be patient with me :)**


	13. Teenage Wasteland 12

#12

"Scott, I don't think you're grasping the concept of a car chase here," said Stiles as he glanced back at the glaring head lights. Elie sat in the back seat, both hands tightly gripping the seat belt.

"If I go any faster, I'll kill us!" Scott explained without taking his eyes off the road.

"Well, if you don't go faster, they'll kill us!" Stiles snapped back in frustration. Scott didn't say anything but changed the gear and slammed his foot down on the pedal. As the car tore through the deserted road, the headlights fell back.

"They're gone!" said Stiles as he looked back at the empty road. Scott and Elie turned around to look too. They were all puzzled by the abrupt end of the chase and Stiles turned on the transistor to listen in on the police radio. When they realised that Derek was in trouble, Scott put his foot down on the pedal and sped along the empty road.

* * *

They got to Derek just in time and as Scott swerved to stop the car to let Derek in, Stiles climbed on to the back seat next to Elie, and Derek ran towards them and jumped into the passenger side. The hunter continued to shoot at them as they sped away. Blue sparks flew as bullets rained around the car. _Oh, my God, they're shooting at us! _Elie panicked but kept her mouth shut and tried not to scream, while she held onto the seat belt as if it was a life line.

"What part of laying low don't you understand?"

Scott lashed out at Derek as they sped away from both the hunters and the police.

"Damn it! I had him!" Derek returned the question with an angry outburst, and Stiles butted into the conversation by leaning forward and sliding between the front seats.

"What? The alpha?" he asked Derek.

"YES! He was right in front of me and then fricking police showed up!"

"Oh, well, hey, they're just doing their jobs…" as usual, Stiles got defensive when Derek got mad at the police. Stiles tended to take any and every insult against police personally.

"YEAH! Thanks to someone who decided to make me the most wanted fugitive in the entire STATE!"

"Can we seriously get past that? I made a dumbass mistake!"

"All right! How did you find him?" Stiles asked in an attempt to change the subject, somewhat forcefully back to alpha. Derek just grunted and looked away.

"Can you try to trust us for like half a second?" said Scott pleadingly.

"Both of us." when Stiles chipped in, Derek glared at him.

"Or just him. And I'll just be back here with my sister." Under the stare, Stiles backed down and sank into the backseat next to Elie.

Derek glanced at Elie who was sitting behind Scott for a second, then at Scott and began to explain.

"Last time I talked to my sister, she was close to figuring something out. She found two things. First was a guy named Harris."

As soon as they heard the name Harris, Elie and Scott looked at each other through the back mirror. Stiles shot forward between the front seats, shoving his face in front of Derek again and asked;

"Our chemistry teacher?"

"Why him?" Scott also asked but Derek said that he didn't know why yet.

"May be he's a vampire?!" Elie suggested from the back. The three of them went quiet, and Elie wished she hadn't said that out loud.

"Why not? We have werewolves…" Elie mumbled.

"Well I wouldn't be surprised if he was one…but a _vampire_?" said Stiles.

Ignoring Elie's Harris-the-vampire theory, Scott asked Derek about the second thing that his sister had found out. Derek rummaged through his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper.

"This…a kind of symbol," he said as he unfolded it and held it up. Elie leaned forward and peeped at it. It was a rough pencil sketch of what looked like a crest with some sort of animal. As soon as Scott saw it he groaned and mutters something under his breath.

"What? You know what this is?" Picking up on Scott's reaction, Derek demanded an answer.

"I've…seen it on a necklace….Allison's necklace." said Scott as he punched the steering wheel. Stiles and Elie just looked at each other, not knowing what to say. _Why did Derek's sister have a sketch of Allison's necklace? Was there something between her family and Hale family?_

* * *

Next day at lunch, Elie found Scott sitting by himself looking gloomy so she walked over and sat down in front of him.

"Hey Scott, did you get the necklace?"

"Not yet." As soon as Scott answered, Stiles came with his tray and sat next to Scott, asking the same question Elie had just asked.

"Did you get her to give you the necklace?"

"Not exactly" Scott grumbled and looked down at his food. He didn't feel like eating at all.

"What happened?" Stiles asked as he took a bite out of his chicken nugget. Scott sighed and explained what had happened.

"She told me not to talk to her. _At all_."

"So she's not giving you the necklace?" Stiles asked the obvious and Elie kicked him under the table.

"She's not giving me the necklace!" Scott snapped out of frustration.

"Well, did you find anything else out?" Ignoring Scott's moodiness, Stiles continued to pry. Scott sighed and said,

"Just that I know nothing about girls and that they're totally psychotic. No offence Elie."

"None taken." Elie took a bite of her apple and shrugged it off.

"Okay, I came up with the Plan B just in case anything like this happened."

"What's Plan B?" Scott sighed but asked anyway.

"Just steal the stupid thing," Stiles answered as matter of factly.

"Can we at least try getting to Harris?" Wanting to avoid the Plan B, Scott brought up an alternative but it was quickly shot down by Stiles.

"Well, good luck stealing the thing… Anyway, I've got to go…Harris paired me up with Matt so I have to go meet him in the library…." Elie explained as she stood up.

"Okay…see you later." Stiles said with his mouth full of chicken nuggets. Scott didn't say anything but just waved. Just before leaving the boys, Elie turned and said,

"Oh, by the way, I'm picking up Dad's car from Bobby's after school so I'll get the groceries done…you want anything?"

"We need more pop-tarts." Stiles said after gulping down his water.

* * *

Elie pulled up the drive way and honked to get Stiles to come down and help her carry the groceries.

As Elie was opening the boot, Stiles leaned over his open window.

"I can't come down right now but I'll send OUR COUSIN MIGUEL down to help," he yelled while winking furiously. Before Elie could ask who the hell Miguel was, and what was wrong with his eyes, he was gone.

So she was shocked when Derek came down to help her.

"_YOU_ are Miguel?" And for some reason, he was wearing Stile's ill-fitting T-shirt. He looked uncomfortable and she could see that he was seething. _Oh no. What did HE do now?_

"Don't ask," Derek said as he took the grocery bags from Elie. She quickly grabbed the rest of the bags and followed him into the house.

"Um…thanks for your help." Elie said as they walked into the kitchen.

"No problem." said Derek. She had expected him to go back to Stiles' room as soon as he put down the bags in the kitchen but he hung around watching Elie walk to and fro, putting the groceries away. She knew he was watching her and it made her nervous, but she tried really hard and pretended not to notice. But she couldn't stand the awkward silence so she casually asked Derek what Stiles was up to.

"He's getting one of his friends to trace the text that was sent to Allison that night."

"Oh…right…" and that was it. So she thought of something else to talk about. _The weather? Or life as a wanted fugitive?_ She had no idea what to talk about. So she put away the rest of the groceries in silence, as fast as she could, and when she was done she turned around and said,

"Um….I'm going to make some coffee…do you want some?"

"Sure," said Derek. So she put the kettle on and grabbed the coffee jar and two cups.

"By the way, why are you wearing Stiles' shirt?" Elie asked as she poured hot water into the cups.

"Don't ask." said Derek as he sighed.

"I could get you one of my Dad's if you want. It might be a better fit…" Elie suggested as she handed him his coffee.

"That would be great, thanks."

Elie put down her coffee and told Derek to wait. She walked up to her Dad's bedroom to look for a T-shirt that he won't miss. She rummaged through the drawers and found a khaki T-shirt that he hadn't worn in ages, so she grabbed it and headed back to kitchen. But before she went downstairs, she stopped by at Stiles' room, and opened the door.

"Hey Stiles, you want something to drink? Hi Danny, what about you?"

"Hot Milo," said Stiles without taking his eyes off the computer screen.

"Hi Elie, um coffee would be nice," said Danny.

"Sugar? Milk?"

"Um one sugar and no milk thanks."

"Okay."

When Elie walked back into the kitchen, Derek was looking at the photos on the fridge as he drank his coffee.

"Is this your mum?" Derek asked as he pointed at one of the picture.

"Yup." It was one of her favourite photos of her mother. She looked beautiful and happy. In the photo, she was laughing and holding oatmeal covered Stiles (aged 3) and Elie in her arms. She thought about her everyday but she hardly talked about her with anyone because even after all these years, it still hurt to admit that she was gone. So she quickly handed him the T-shirt to avoid talking about her mum.

"Here, try this. It should be a better fit than that,"

"Thanks." Derek took it and put his cup down to change. The minute Elie realised that he was taking his shirt off in front of her, she quickly turned around and started making the drinks for the boys. She had already seen him shirtless that night at the Animal Clinic, but she had been freaking out too much to feel embarrassed and besides she didn't want him to think that she was staring at him.

When the drinks were done, Elie put her cup and the two cups for the boys on a tray and took it upstairs. Derek put his empty cup in the sink and followed Elie to Stiles' room.

"Here you go boys," Elie gave them the drinks and sat down on Stiles' bed and asked.

"How's it going?"

"It's almost done," said Danny. Derek sat in the chair by the wall and picked up a book. Elie and Stiles talked about the chemistry assignment and Harris as they drank their drinks and Danny continued to work on the computer. Elie noticed that he kept glancing at Derek, and she realised that Stiles may have used Derek as bait to get Danny to trace the text.

When Danny finally said he was done, the three of them gathered around him. He showed them the screen and when Elie saw the name, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Registered to THAT account name?" asked Derek.

"No, nonononono, that can't be right." Stiles blurted out as he stared at the screen in disbelief.

Elie stared at the name [Melissa McCall] and wondered what the hell was going on._ I thought tracing the text would bring us closer to figuring out who the alpha was. I'm 100% sure that Melissa isn't a werewolf so who had access to her email account?_ Elie looked at Stiles who looked as confused as she was.

* * *

"Yeah, I did and it looks just like the drawing…" said Stiles. Derek suddenly grabbed Stiles' wrist and pulled the phone closer to him and shouted at Scott through the phone as Stiles whimpered in pain.

"Hey, is there something on the back? There's gotta be something…inscription? An opening? Something!"

"No, no the thing's flat, and no it doesn't open. There's nothing in it, on it or around it. Nothing!" Elie heard Scott say before Stiles yanked his phone back from Derek. She couldn't hear what Scott said after that but from what Stiles was saying from this end, she figured that he was talking about the game.

"I know. Look, if you…you just see my Dad, can you tell him…tell him I'll be there… I'll just be little bit late, okay? All right. Thanks."

"You're not gonna make it," said Derek as soon as Stiles hung up.

"I know," Stiles sighed.

"Stiles! I told you! You should go to the game! I can look into this on my own!" said Elie.

"We've already talked about this!" Stiles outright refused to go to the game and leave Elie alone with Derek. There was no way that he would leave her alone with him. He knew Elie hated being treated like some sort of a damsel in distress, and knew that she could kick ass but that was only if she was fighting a human. _They were up against werewolves, for crying out loud!_ So he was not going to take any chances. He was not going to lose her._ If anything happened to her, it would break Dad…and I could never live with that. _

"And you didn't tell him about his mum either," said Derek and interrupted Stiles' thoughts.

"Not until we find out the truth."

"Shall we?" said Elie as she got out of the car. If they hurried, may be they could make it to the game…well not for the whole game but may be for the second half….and may be Finstock would let Stiles play. She was angry that he didn't think she could do this. What did she have to do to prove to him that she didn't need to be protected like some_….some fricking PRINCESS!_ She was fuming outside the Jeep when she heard Derek say,

"By the way, one more thing," and he slammed Stiles' head against the steering wheel.

"What the hell was that for?!" yelled Stiles as he covered his face with his hand in pain.

"YOU know what that was for. GO." Ignoring Stiles' cries Derek pointed at the hospital entrance.

"I can't believe this…You think that I can't handle something like this on my own? You could be at the game! You know how much Dad was looking forward to this!" said Elie as they walked out of the parking-lot. When Elie mentioned the Sheriff, Stiles stopped for a moment and said,

"Well, I only made the team because of the pink eye epidemic, not because I was good enough to be in first line."

"Stiles…."

"Right now, I just want to get to the bottom of this before Scott finds out his mum was somehow involved in this."

"…..So what's the plan?" Elie asked.

"Well, if someone's using the computer, you pretend to faint and while that person is fussing over you, I'll check who was on duty when the text was sent." Stiles explained.

"Pretend to faint? THAT'S your plan? They're professionals! They'll know as soon as they see me that I'm faking it!"

"I'll only need few minutes so may be stop breathing?"

"Stop breathing!? For FEW MINUTES? Are you serious?"

"Well, can you think of something else?"

"…..fine. But be quick."

She couldn't come up with anything else so she reluctantly agreed to go along with Stiles' plan. But when they walked in they were surprised to find the place empty. No one was sitting behind the reception area and the place was eerily quiet. As they walked along the deserted corridor, Stiles called Derek. They walked past the reception area and headed towards the rooms. She heard Stiles tell Derek that they couldn't find Melissa…or anyone. He walked into one of the rooms and Elie continued to walk along the corridor. She never really liked the hospitals anyway but the silence and the emptiness was creeping her out.

As Elie turned the corner, she saw a man with scars on the side of his face standing in the middle of the corridor. She was about to ask where everyone was, but he smiled and placed his index finger to his lips. Something about his smile was bothering Elie and when his hand slid into his pocket and brought out a familiar looking silver letter opener, she realised who this man was. _I have to warn Stiles!_ Elie quickly turned around to yell out when the man quickly grabbed her from behind and pushed her against the wall. She was terrified but her instinct took over and she was about to knee him in the groin when he chuckled.

"…I wouldn't do that if I were you." He whispered in her ear, as he gently stroked her cheek with his hand. His hand slowly slipped down to her neck and she felt his claws pressing against her skin. It wasn't cutting into her skin yet, but she froze when she realised that one wrong move and he would rip her throat. Elie was desperately looking for a way to warn her brother when she heard him talking to Derek over the phone in one of the rooms.

"He's not here either. He's gone, Derek."

Elie was dragged along the corridor by the alpha and as they turned around the corner, Stiles was just backing out of a room. When Stiles saw Peter loom out of the corner, he was startled by him but when the man came into his full view and saw that Elie was being held hostage, Stiles freaked out.

Stiles slowly lowered his phone and the man smiled and said;

"Hello, you must be Stiles." His voice was soft and gentle but it sent a chill down Stiles' spine. He still had no idea who this was but the only thing in his mind was to get Elie away from him. She looked terrified but she was frantically mouthing something, but he couldn't figure it out. When he looked completely blank, Elie rolled her eyes and gestured with her arms for him to 'GO AWAY.' Ignoring his sister, Stiles took a step closer and begged,

"Please don't hurt her! If you need a hostage, take me. I…I'll be your hostage. Just…don't hurt her…PLEASE!"

When Elie heard this she couldn't hold it in any longer. She was not going to let Stiles be captured by the alpha. She would rather die than see him come to harm.

"NO! Stiles! Run for it!" Ignoring the claws, Elie screamed at her brother. She was expecting the alpha's claws to dig into her skin but instead, he chuckled again and said,

"This is so touching."

Stiles looked around in panic, hoping to see Derek come running; but when he turned around, all he saw was a red haired nurse instead. He hadn't hung up the phone yet so he was sure that Derek was listening to what was going on. _Come on Derek, I need you!_

"What are you doing here?! Visiting hours are OVER." the nurse said in a menacing tone. Something about the way she said it made him think and Stiles looked at the nurse, and then back at the man and it dawned on him.

"You….and…him! You're the one…Oh my…and he's the….Oh my god, we're gonna die. WE ARE GONNA DIE…" Stiles began to panic as he put two and two together and realised who was behind the text and more importantly _who _was holding Elie hostage. It was getting harder to breath, and he felt the panic attack come on, but Derek suddenly appeared and elbowed the nurse in the face, knocking her out cold with one blow.

"That's not nice. She's my nurse," said the alpha. He didn't raise his voice or show anger but somehow his gentle tone and manner was way more terrifying.

"She's a psycho bitch helping you kill people. Get out of the way." unfazed, Derek barked at the alpha and Stiles. As soon as he was told, Stiles crouched down, ready to get out of the place once his sister was free.

"Now, let HER go." Derek demanded.

"Oh, you mean this one? I like her. She's feisty. You know, she came at me with THIS?" said Peter as he threw down the silver letter opener. His other hand remained wrapped around Elie's throat. Stiles quickly slid across the corridor and grabbed the letter opener. He looked around to see if anyone was watching, but both Derek and the alpha had eyes locked on each other so he gripped it tight and waited for an opportunity.

"I'm serious. LET HER GO." Derek growled as he continued to glare at his uncle.

"You think I killed Laura on purpose? My own family?" the alpha walked towards Derek, without taking his hand off Elie's neck. As she was dragged along the corridor, she looked down and saw Stiles with the letter opener and she frantically shook her head. When the alpha stopped, she looked up and saw Derek grow fangs and his eyes turn icy blue. He howled loudly before charging at his uncle, who threw Elie down the floor to grab Derek. The two of them began to fight in the middle of the corridor, banging and crashing around the place. Stiles crawled towards his sister and shielded her from the debris as he dragged her out of the corridor.

As they ran out of the hospital, Elie looked back and said,

"We…we can't just leave Derek in there!"

"Why not?! They're family! They'll work it out!" Stiles tightened his grip on his sister's wrist to stop her from turning round, and continued to head for his Jeep. The only thing in his mind at this moment was to get his sister as far away from the alpha as possible and let Scott know that Peter Hale, Derek's uncle was the alpha.

**A/N: Sorry I didn't update last week…I got stuck with extra shifts at work and I just didn't have anytime. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and hopefully I would be able to update over the weekend or early next week. As always, thank you for reading, following and reviewing my story! :) Kallie, thank you for your review! (You weren't logged on so here's my thanks!) **

**Also, sorry for posting the same chapter twice, instead of updating this new chapter! Thank you to the readers who pointed out the mistake! I appreciate it! :)**


	14. Teenage Wasteland 13

#13

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Derek is now working with the alpha?" Elie asked Scott, as she leaned front from the back seat of the Jeep.

"Uh huh…" Scott seemed distracted as he answered her.

"And they want you to join their pack…"

"Uh huh…."

"You know that killing us before joining their pack thing? Is that still on? Are they gonna try to make you kill us again?"

"I don't know!"

Scott seemed frustrated so she decided to give him a break and leaned back and slouched in the back seat. Elie's thoughts began to drift back towards Derek, which seemed to be happening too frequently these days. The news that Derek was siding with the alpha hit her hard. Did that mean that if they were in a similar situation as last time at the hospital corridor the other night, when the alpha tried to kill her, Derek wouldn't save her anymore? Next time, he'd be helping the alpha?

She was yanked away from her thoughts when the Jeep suddenly stopped. When she looked out the window and saw Jackson and some…guy standing around Jackson's car.

"Yo,"

"What's uuuup?!"

"Is everything okay?"

The boys greeted Jackson awkwardly. Elie wondered why they stopped for Jackson. They hated each other. Jackson looked as confused as she was, but the man looked relaxed and answered the boys instead of Jackson.

"Hey Scott, your friend was having a car trouble. We were just taking a look."

"There's a shop right down the street. I'm sure they have a tow truck." Scott seemed desperate to get Jackson away from that man. _Who the hell was he?_ Elie wondered but kept her mouth shut as she sensed the tension.

"Yeah, you wanna ride?" Stiles asked and Scott opened the door but Jackson didn't budge so Stiles added,

"Hey Jackson you're too pretty to be out here all by yourself."

It seemed like a weird thing to say but without a word, Jackson started to walk over to them. Perhaps he sensed something too. As he got closer, Elie noticed that he seemed nervous and tense as the boys. _What was happening? Is that guy a werewolf? What's going on?_

Just as Jackson was about to get in the Jeep, the man called out to them and started Jackson's car.

"Hey boys….told you I knew a few things about cars." Then, he just drove off. As soon as he drove away, Jackson and Scott were on each other's throats and Stiles quickly got out of the car to intervene. Elie followed him and as she did so, she pulled her brother's shirt and as if he had read her mind, he turned around and said,

"Allison's dad."

"The hunter?"

"Yup…dude!? My Jeep!" Stiles rushed over when Scott slammed the Jeep in frustration.

"I can hear your heart beating from mile away, literally! Now he thinks there's something wrong, and now I have to keep my eye on you so he doesn't kill you too! Argghhhhh!" As Scott screamed, he rushed at the Jeep again.

"Okayokayokay…how about we step away from Stiles' Jeep." Stiles gentle pulled Scott away from his precious Jeep.

Ignoring the twins, Jackson kept barking at Scott.

"This is your problem not mine. Okay? I didn't say anything which means you're the one that gets ME killed. Okay!? This is YOUR fault!" Jackson screamed and pushed Scott against the Jeep.

"Can we stop hitting my Jeep? Guys, stop…alright?"

"When they come after you, I won't be able to protect you. I can't protect anyone." He looked helplessly at Elie and then at Stiles.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You know, know you have to do it. Give me what I want! And I'll be fine protecting myself."

"No you won't! Just trust me! All it does is, make things worse!"

As Elie listened to Scott trying to convince Jackson that becoming a werewolf was not the answer, and how it made everything worse, she began to feel guilty because all this time, she never once thought about how this was affecting Scott. He was burdened with the responsibility of keeping everyone safe, as if he was some kind of a superhero. Even when Jackson was being a total jerk, Scott was trying to do what was right. If it was up to Elie, it would have been so tempting just to give him a bite and a taste of what Scott was going through. _JERK,_ Elie thought as Jackson drove away in his Porsche.

#

After the unpleasant encounter with Jackson, the boys dropped Elie off at the diner. It was one of those quiet days at the diner and there were only a handful of customers that she was told to go home after only three hour shift. She was wondering whether to call Stiles when a car pulled up.

When the window rolled down and Elie saw who was in the car, her heart skipped a beat.

"Need a ride?" Derek asked.

For a moment, Elie hesitated because she knew that he was now working with the alpha, but she got in anyway. She wondered whether he wanted to talk to her or something.

"Thanks," said Elie as she got into his car.

However, when he didn't say anything as they drove towards her place, she figured he just happened to pass by and decided to give her a lift.

There were millions of questions she wanted to ask him like, _Are you going to try and kill us? What do you want from Scott? Can't you leave us alone? Why are you working with the alpha? Why are you giving me a ride home?_ But she couldn't. She just stared at the passing scenery, trying to calm her heartbeat as she remembered Scott telling Jackson how he could hear a heart beating from mile away.

Elie jumped a little when Derek suddenly asked if she was okay. Not understanding what he meant by that, she vaguely said,

"Um…yes?"

"I mean from the other night at the hospital."

"Um…yes. I'm fine…thanks for asking."

That was the end of it and for the rest of the drive, Derek didn't say anything. For a moment she wondered whether he drove by to check up on her but then again, why would he?

"Here we are,"

"Um…thanks for the ride." When Elie got out of the car, and awkwardly waved goodbye at Derek, he leaned over and stared into Elie's eyes that for a brief moment she thought he was going to tell her something. But, all he said was,

"Good night, Elie."

As Elie stood in the driveway, watching him drive away, she wondered whether he was trying to tell her that he wasn't a threat to her. But then again, why would he do that? She was probably a nobody to him. To him, she was just Scott's best friend, and nothing more. So she should spare herself the embarrassment and heartache and stop thinking about him because this is just a stupid teenage crush. And a stupid time to be having a crush at that, since Elie and the boys were facing a life-and-death situation with the unpredictable alpha on the loose.

#

When Elie walked in through the front door, she noticed a light in the kitchen. She knew Stiles was out since his Jeep wasn't in the driveway. So she figured it was her dad and call out as she walked towards the kitchen.

"I'm home! Dad?"

The Sheriff waved at her as she entered the kitchen but he kept his eyes, which was barely open, on the pieces of paper that was strewn all over the table. She walked over to give him a hug and caught a whiff of alcohol, and saw the empty bottle of whiskey. She'd seen him like this before and she realised that her father wasn't thinking about work right now. That's when the Sheriff whispered,

"I miss her,"

When Elie heard those words, she froze and had to fight back her tears. She gave him a tight hug around the neck and a peck on the cheek as she whispered back.

"I miss her too."

They never really talked about her mother because it still hurt too much, and seeing her father like this hurt more because she knew there was nothing she could do to make him feel better. People said time will heal. But it never did. They just learned to shut it out and get on day by day. You miss her every day, every hour, every minute, but you just push those thoughts into back of your mind, so you can pretend that you're okay. She pretended that she was okay for the sake of her father and her brother who were also hurting. So occasionally when Elie got a glimpse of her father's grief and pain, she never knew what else to say. When her father pushed his chair back, she sat down on his lap and gave him a hug to let him know that she was here for him. _It's okay, we're okay_. She thought over and over in her head, hoping that if she thought hard enough, everything would actually _be_ okay.

After a while, Elie urged the Sheriff to go to bed. As she ushered him to his bedroom, the Sheriff gave his daughter another hug and whispered,

"Thanks, I love you, princess."

"Love you too, dad. Good night."

"Good night."

Just as Elie walked downstairs to clean up the kitchen, she heard Stiles' Jeep pull into the driveway.

"Where have you been?" she asked when he walked into the kitchen.

"Long story," said Stiles as he opened the fridge to grab a drink.

"Dad was drunk."

"Oh?"

"He…um….nothing. Never mind. Were you with Scott?"

Elie was about to tell Stiles about the Sheriff but stopped, knowing how the topic of their mother would affect Stiles. Meanwhile, Stiles, quickly began to explain that he had just saved Melissa from the alpha, as he did not want to get into how the Sheriff got drunk. He was feeling terrible about it as it is and the last thing he needed was his sister getting angry at him.

"What? Melissa is dating the alpha? How? Why?"

"He's probably using her as bait or hostage… to get Scott to agree to join the pack."

"Jesus…we have to warn her!"

"How? Tell her that he's a homicidal werewolf?"

"…but, but we can't let her date him!"

"I know, I know."

The fact that the alpha had made contact with Melissa scared Elie because it made her fear, of her own father getting involved and getting hurt, more real. _What can we do? How are we going to protect our parents from the alpha? How are we going to keep ourselves safe?_ She felt so helpless. She wished Derek was still with them. Knowing that he was supporting Scott had been so reassuring. But now the boys and Elie were on their own.

**A/N: Sorry for taking ages with the update but my Nana passed away, and for a long time, I really didn't feel like doing anything. But now I'm back and I'll try and update regularly from now on. Thank you for reading this, and thank you for waiting patiently. :)**


	15. Teenage Wasteland 14

**#14**

Everyone at school was excited about the formal and all they were talking about was who they'll be going with, what they'll be wearing, or what music they wanted. Elie wasn't in the mood at all with what was going with the alpha, and besides…there was no one she wanted to go with. Well, more correctly, there was_ someone_ but she was pretty sure that he would never EVER go to a school dance with a sixteen year old. So you know, she wasn't in the mood.

She had initially planned to skip the formal, but Stiles and Scott insisted on staying together and they had to keep their eyes on Allison so she had to go. She wanted to keep her eyes on the boys too, so in the end, she agreed to go which meant that now she had to go shopping for a dress. Elie sighed as she frustratingly rummaged around rack full of dresses at Macy's.

"I've never bought a dress before! I have no idea what to get!"

"How about this one? Blue is sooo your colour!"

"Shut up Stiles, I'm serious! I really don't know what to wear!"

"Just pick one. How about that one?"

"What are you doing here anyway? Where's Scott?"

Stiles shrugged as he looked through the dresses.

"Where's Jessie? or Hannah? May be they could help."

"Jessie's baby-sitting and Hannah's on the formal committee so she's swamped. I don't want to waste their time…this is so stupid. _I _feel so stupid."

"Here, try this on." Stiles handed Elie a silver metallic mini dress. Elie glance at the price tag and put it back immediately.

"Did you see the price tag? This is insane! How can something with so little fabric cost so much?!"

"Well then, how about this one? This one's under a hundred…"

Elie grabbed the white dress Stiles handed her and headed for the changing room.

Elie couldn't remember the last time she wore a dress. She has to wear a dress when she's working at the diner but that didn't count. She really couldn't remember the last time she wore a skirt or a dress that wasn't a uniform. After getting out of her T-shirt and jeans, she slipped into the little white dress. It felt weird to feel the breeze between her legs and she felt so….so exposed. She looked at her own reflection in the mirror_. I feel so stupid. May be I should just wear my normal clothes? Wearing this in front of the boys and everyone at school is so embarrassing because this is so not me…._

"Hey, Elie, are you done yet?" Suddenly, Stiles popped his head through the curtain.

"STILES!" Even though Elie was fully dressed, she yelled and pushed away Stiles' head and angrily closed the curtain. To Elie's surprise, Stiles complemented her from behind the curtains.

"Hey, you look good!"

"…..I do?"

"Yeah…are you gonna go with that one?"

"Um…I think so."

"If that's the case, I um…can I go? I just need to get something… so meet you down at the car park in like 15 minutes?"

"Okay."

#

After paying for the dress, Elie quickly headed towards the car park. She was just checking her messages on her phone while leaning on the Jeep, when she suddenly heard footsteps and she felt her hair stand on the back of her neck. Her heart began pounding. She hugged her shopping bag and looked around the empty car park. She wondered if she should walk back into the shops. The elevator was only about 20 feet away but she was reluctant to move as she realised that someone, or something could jump out from behind one of the cars. Elie grabbed her phone and tried calling Stiles but it went straight to voice mail. _Damn it, Stiles! Where are you?_ She shoved the phone back in her jeans pocket and frantically looked around. She couldn't see anybody or anything. She began to think she was imagining things. Maybe she was a little spooked from the other night at the hospital.

Before making the dash towards the elevator, Elie slowly knelt down on her fours and scanned the car park floor, just to make sure. When she didn't see anything suspicious, she decided that she was being too paranoid. As she stood up (feeling stupid for over-reacting), she heard a chuckle from behind her which made her freeze on the spot. Her heart was pounding as footsteps got closer and closer, until she could almost feel his breath on the back of her neck.

"What do you want from me?" Elie whispered as without turning around.

"Nothing. I just wanted to say hi," The alpha whispered from behind. He continued, as he gently stroked Elie's shoulder.

"If Scott wasn't in love with Allison, you'd be the perfect target because you're like his sister right?"

"We're not going to let you hurt Allison or Melissa." She had no idea how to stop him, and wondered why the hell she was provoking a homicidal werewolf.

"Well, if Scott joined the pack, I wouldn't have to hurt anyone." The alpha answered in a calm tone.

"If he keeps saying no, you're just going to kill everyone?" Elie's voice began to shake at the thought of losing Scott, Melissa, Stiles and her dad.

"That's the plan, my dear."_ Keep him talking, keep him talking_, Elie thought to herself. _At any moment,_ _someone would be coming down to get their car, right?_ If she stalled him for long enough, may be she can see her family and friends again.

"…what did you do to Derek?" When Elie suddenly brought up Derek, Peter was momentarily taken back but quickly replied,

"Do? I'm a concerned uncle looking for his nephew."

"I mean, what did you do to him to make him join you?"

"What can I say, we're _family_." As Peter answered in a mocking tone, he realised that Elie might have feelings for Derek and wondered how his nephew felt about that, remembering the way he growled at him to let her go in the hospital._ Interesting_, Peter thought.

"Then why did you kill your niece?" As soon as she said it out loud, Elie realised too late that it might just push him over the edge but the alpha was silent. May be he was too angry to answer. Frozen on the spot, Elie closed her eyes and prayed. Suddenly the elevator bell rang, which made Elie jump a little. When she turned around, she saw several girls from her school, presumably shopping for formal, get out of the elevator chatting very loudly and they walked towards their parked car without giving Elie a second glance. Elie looked around and when she realised that the alpha had disappeared, she quickly ran towards the elevator, got in and frantically pressed the buttons to close the door.

#

Elie got out of the elevator and ran towards the food court. She wanted to be where there were people. Lots of people. Normally, she hated the crowd but right now, she wanted to be surrounded by them. Her hands were shaking and she was beginning to panic about Stiles not turning up to the car park in time. _Please, God let Stiles be okay. Let Stiles be okay_. She repeated as she tried calling him again when she stumbled into someone.

"Ow, Sorry…Elie!?"

"Stiles! You fucking idiot! Where the hell were you? You said 15 minutes! and it's been nearly an hour! You dumb shit!" Elie began swearing at her brother half out of relief but half out of anger.

"Whoa, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry….did something happen?" Stiles repeatedly apologised in order to calm his sister down but realised that she was pale and shaking a little. He expected her to be a little pissed that he'd made her wait but she was almost hysterical.

"WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT I SAW _HIM_ IN THE CAR PARK!"

"WHAT?! You mean the alpha?" Stiles panicked and looked around.

"YES! He turned up instead of you!" Elie yelled and smacked Stiles' arm.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Stiles grabbed his sister's shoulders and looked into her face. He could see that she was trying to fight back her tears and he didn't know what to say or do so he hugged her.

"I thought I was going to die." Elie whispered and Stiles hugged her a little tighter.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Stiles swore to never let his sister out of his sight until this alpha business was over. What if Peter had actually hurt Elie in the car park? Just the thought of it made his knees weak.

In Stiles' reassuring arms, Elie felt her fears slowly drain away and she pushed him away and in a lighter tone, she demanded an answer.

"Anyway, where the hell were you?"

"Well, um…." Stiles began to grin as he remembered his encounter with Lydia and Allison and as soon as Elie saw his expression, she knew.

"It was Lydia wasn't it."

"How did you know?"

"You get that _stupid-in-love_ kind of face."

"Well, guess who's going to the formal with Lydia?"

"Jackson?"

"Nope." Stiles continued to grin like an idiot and Elie began to put two and two together.

"….What? Seriously? You? And Lydia?"

"Yup."

"I'm sorry but are you sure that this is not going to turn into one of those _Carrie _type of situations? Because you know…why would she go with you?"

"Thanks, sis. Thanks for the encouragement!"

"Sorry, um….Congratulations. You, and Lydia huh?"

#

"So, you're going with Scott to the formal?" asked the sheriff as he stood in the doorway of his daughter's bedroom after Stiles left to pick up his date.

"Uh huh, but it's not a date, Dad. I have no one, and Scott…well it's complicated so we're going together as friends. " Elie explained as she checked herself in the mirror. Sandy had dropped by to put some make up on her and help her get ready since Elie was completely clueless. Sandy attempted to give her a full make over, complete with false eye lashes and contouring, but Elie outright refused. So reluctantly, Sandy gave her a more natural look. She also put Elie's hair in a bun, nothing too fancy but little more fancy than her usual messy bun.

"How do I look?" she asked sheepishly as she turned around. She was wearing a white mini dress and her black Dr. Martens boots. Sandy thought it was hilarious but it was practical since she could run around in these shoes if something happened, and besides it was already bad enough that she had to wear a dress and make up. She was _not_ going to wear heels.

"You look beautiful, princess." The sheriff smiled and gave his daughter a kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks dad." just as Elie was giving her father a hug, she heard a car pull up in her drive way.

"I think that's Scott, so I'll see you later okay?" said Elie as she ran out of her room.

"Don't you dare say anything." Elie warned as soon as she got into Melissa's car that Scott had borrowed.

"What? I was going to say you look great," said Scott sheepishly.

"Um…thanks, you look great too." and then they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"So how are you going to get in? I'm guessing that Finstock will be staking out at the entrance." Elie asked as they drove towards school.

"…through the roof."

"And once you get inside?"

"Just hang around at the back and keep my eyes on Allison, I guess."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'm sorry you're stuck with me."

"What? No, I mean I was planning to just skip it."

"I thought Ethan from History asked you…"

"He did…but I said no."

"Why? Is there someone else?"

"…Um, no. I mean, I'm just going to the formal to keep my eyes on you boys, so I'd be a shitty date and it didn't seem right to say yes."

"….I'm sorry I got you involved in all this."

"It's not your fault, Scott. You're family and I'm with you all the way, and so is Stiles. We're in this together, so don't apologise okay?"

"Thanks."

When they got to school, Elie watched Scott sneak up on to the roof and then took a deep breath before walking into the hall. Once inside, she made her way through the crowd to the bleachers and climbed up towards the back and sat down. She sat there looking at groups of kids dancing around when Scott quietly sneaked up next to her.

"Can you see Allison?" Elie asked as she looked at Scott. He was frowning so she just followed his gaze and saw Allison and Jackson dancing.

"Well, at least they're not enjoying each other's company?" said Elie to lighten Scott's mood. It didn't work as he continued to growl.

"Oh. My. God. Is that Stiles with Lydia?" Elie asked when she saw Stiles walking towards the dance floor with Lydia. She and Scott looked at each other in amazement and was smiling when Finstock yelled out across the hall.

"HEY! I SEE YOU! COME HERE BUDDY!"

"Scott, Run!" said Elie but Scott was already up and running down the bleachers. From the bleachers, Elie could see Finstock making his way towards Scott by shoving away students. _You can't get kicked out when we know that the alpha is planning to do something to Allison!_ In a split second, she made a decision and ran down the bleachers and made her way towards Finstock.

"Mr Finstock!"

"Not now!"

"But…" Elie was about to ask Finstock for a dance to distract him when he caught up with Scott.

"McCall! You're not supposed to…What the hell are you….What the hell are you doing?" Finstock asked and the hall suddenly went completely quiet and everyone's eyes were on Finstock, Scott and Danny.

"Yes, coach?" asked Scott as he put his arms tighter around Danny.

"Hold on…..ahahahah….you…..I'm just saying he's not supposed to…I mean I wasn't saying that he shouldn't….you guys don't think that I….I was just…..DANCE, EVERYBODY! DANCE! JUST DANCE! IT'S A PARTY! AHAHAHAHA…." Elie almost felt sorry for him_. Almost._

When the music restarted and everyone on the dance floor paired up, Elie quietly left the hall. She was sitting outside enjoying the crisp night air, wondering what to do while the boys danced away inside, she saw Jackson staggering into the woods. For a brief moment, she wondered whether to just let him go but decided to follow him. Scott would never stop blaming himself if something happened. Even if it was Jackson.

It was dark and foggy in the woods and she didn't want to get too far from school but Jackson kept walking deeper into the woods. He was talking to himself as he walked and Elie wondered if he was drunk. As she got closer, he began to yell towards the thick fog and stumbled on to the ground.

"Come on! I wanna be like you. I wanna be one of you. Please."

When Elie heard that she was so angry that she was just about to give him a good kick for being such an idiot but she saw two red rays of lights and heard footsteps crunching the dead leaves, she hid behind one of the trees.

"Unfortunately for you Jackson, I don't think I can give you what you want."

Elie recognised that voice. It was Allison's dad. _Shit! He knows Jackson isn't the beta now, so it's only a matter of time before the hunters figure out that Scott is the beta!_ Elie kept quiet as Allison's dad and his colleague led Jackson out of the woods and when she was sure that they wouldn't be able to hear her, she tried calling Stiles but she couldn't get through to him. _Come on, come on Stiles, who are you talking to? I thought you were dancing with Lydia!_ She was about to try Scott instead, when she remembered that he'd lost his phone.

"Arrgghhhhhhh!" Elie screamed in frustration. _What do I do? What do I do?! _ Her mind was racing as she ran out of the woods and into the school car park. _I wish Derek was here…he'd know what to do…Think! Elie think! The hunters want Scott so they can find the alpha, and the alpha wants Scott for a full on war against the hunters…so no one is actually going to kill anyone tonight… I have to find Derek. Even if he may be working with the alpha, he might be the only one that can help us. I mean he's been helping us from the beginning!_

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading! It's nearly over! :)****  
**


	16. Teenage Wasteland 15

****

**#15**

Elie scrolled through her contact list on her phone and stopped at 'Derek.' She took a deep breath and called him. Please, please, please answer the phone…Elie pleaded as she listened to the ringtone.

"Hello?" A woman answered the phone and it threw off Elie for a second because she wasn't expecting that. For a moment, Elie thought of hanging up but remembering the hunters, she pressed on.

"Um…uh…..this is Elie…..um…can I talk to Derek?"

"I'm sorry he can't come to the phone right now, but would you like to leave a message?" said the woman in a cheery but mocking tone.

"Um no, it's okay. Thanks."

#

"Who's Elie?" Kate smirked after hanging up the phone. Derek looked away and just growled. Kate twirled the phone in her hand and continued to mock him.

"You haven't even saved her number on your phone…I wonder why she was calling you?"

"None of your business." Derek hissed.

"She sounded young…you're going for a younger ones now or something?"

"Shut up." Derek growled. If only he could get out of this…this thing! The fact that Elie called him meant that something was up. He was sure his uncle wouldn't hurt Scott because he needs him, so he figured that it must be the hunters….maybe they finally found out about Scott. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the stabbing pain. Kate was standing by the machine grinning.

"Sorry, I have no reason to torture you now since I've already figured out everything, but you look sooo helpless and pathetic right now that it's too tempting. I love hearing you scream in pain." Kate smiled sweetly.

#

The shock of hearing a woman answer Derek's phone had left Elie dazed. _He had a girlfriend? Hang on, why should I be concerned about him having a girlfriend? I'm not asking him out! I'm asking for help!_ She tried calling Derek again but this time, it kept ringing until it went over to voice mail. _Damn! I should have asked where he was the first time! Where could he be?_ Elie's train of thoughts were interrupted by a loud car horn and that's when she realised she had just walked in front of a car that was trying to leave school grounds.

"Watch where you're going! Hey….Elie? Is that you?"

"Ethan? I'm sorry…I….ur…"

"It's okay…Just be careful okay?"

"Um…wait! Ethan, can you give me a lift?"

"Sure, get in,"

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." said Elie as she got into the passenger side.

"You're leaving early too?"

"Um yeah…what happened to your date?"

"She's kissing one of the lacrosse guys."

"Ah….um…sorry."

"Nah, it's okay. What about yours?"

"Um…he's dancing with the girl of his dreams."

"Maybe you should've just said yes to me, huh?"

"Maybe…but I hate dancing so I would have been a shitty date."

"I don't dance either."

"Um, Ethan can you turn here?"

"You're not going home?"

"No. I…I have to go somewhere." said Elie hoping that Ethan wouldn't ask too much questions and to her relief he just shrugged as he drove on.

"Uh…are you sure you don't want me to wait or something?" Ethan asked as he stopped the car where Elie told him to.

"Um no, it's okay. I'm meeting someone here. So thanks…" said Elie as she quickly got out of the car.

"I'm not going to get in to trouble about this with Sheriff am I?" Ethan leaned over and asked.

"What? No!"

"I feel really uneasy leaving you here…"

"I'll be fine! This is Beacon Hills, Ethan! Nothing ever happens, remember?"

"Well, yeah but lately…you know…"

"I promise I won't become a news headline tomorrow morning. Thanks for the ride and I'll see you around okay?" Elie waved at Ethan who looked concerned, and ran into the woods.

Walking through the tall trees and thick fog, and listening to the crunching the dry leaves, Elie felt as if she was having a déjà vu moment to the night she and the boys went out to find the dead girl in the woods. Going to Hale house was a spur of the moment decision but since Elie knew nothing about Derek, she thought she'd start as his house. Maybe she'd be able to find out something about him that might give her a clue as to where he was, or the hunters. _I don't know what I'm doing but I don't want to do nothing and just worry about everything._

As she got closer to the Hale house, she jumped when she suddenly heard a loud howl. It sounded close but she was pretty sure that it wasn't coming from the inside of the house. For a moment she feared that it might be an alpha, but she decided that it wasn't him since every time the alpha had appeared before her, it had crept up to her silently, not howl from distance. _It can't be Scott because he's at school, so it must be Derek!_ Unless there's another werewolf that she didn't know about. She closed her eyes and strained her ears to figure out where it was coming from. She walked closer and closer towards the howl until she stumbled onto what looked like a secret passage with iron door covered in vines and spider webs.

The howling had stopped and after looking around to see if anyone was around, she carefully pushed at the door, half expecting it to be locked. To her surprise, it opened with a little rattle and creaking sound. She walked into the dark, dusty tunnel like passage until she came to a bend and saw the lights. She continued onward until she came to a room and saw Derek chained to what looked like a torturing device.

"Elie? What are you doing here?" Derek asked when he saw her walk in.

"Looking for you," she answered as she got closer to free him. She looked around for something to step on so she could reach up to his wrist.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I didn't. You howled just in time though." said Elie as she stepped onto a wooden box.

"…why were you looking for me?"

"Uncharacteristically talkative today aren't we? I was looking for you because I need you." Elie blurted out as she was struggling with the leather wrist band. Once she realised what she had just said, she quickly added,

"I mean WE need you. I think the hunters have found out about Scott and your uncle's lurking around somewhere threatening to kill everyone so you know, we need you."

Elie jumped off the box and was about to move it to the other side to free his other arm, when they heard footsteps approaching.

"Hide!" Derek whispered and Elie scurried away behind the large crate. As she held her breath, someone walked in, turned on the lamp and said,

"Are you ready to have some more fun?" the man taunted Derek who remained silent and the man continued.

"To be honest, my knuckles are kind of hurting so I've brought some help. But I need to warn ya. I used to play in college." Elie heard the swish of air as the man swung his bat but it failed to make contact as Derek had grabbed the bat in mid-air.

"I've had a little help too." said Derek and as the man turned around to look for Derek's accomplice, Derek swung his arm and knocked him out.

"Scott?" Elie called out in surprise as she emerged from behind the crate and saw Scott standing in the doorway.

"Elie? What are you doing here?" asked Scott looking shocked.

"Um…I was trying to get help because Jackson ratted you out to the hunters."

While Scott and Elie were talking, Derek was struggling to get himself free with one hand.

"Scott, Help me with this…." he said as he ripped off the patches of wires from his torso.

Scott walked towards him but refused to help.

"No."

"What?" Elie and Derek asked in unison.

"Not until you tell me how to stop Peter." Scott insisted.

"You wanna talk about this right now?"

"He's going after Allison and her family. He's going to kill them."

"So WHAT?" Derek yelled.

"So tell me how to stop him."

"You CAN'T!" Derek screamed and then rattles the chains in frustration.

"I don't know when Kate's coming back, so get me out right now. GET ME OUT RIGHT NOW!"

"Um, Scott he's right, you can talk about this after we get out." Elie suggested as she stood between Derek and Scott. Scott looked at Elie and pulled her towards him and away from Derek, as if to warn her not to help Derek.

"You promise to help me." Scott persisted.

"You think I'm gonna risk my life for your girlfriend? Huh? For your stupid teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? You're not in love Scott! You're 16 years old! You're a child!" Derek yelled in anger. His words were directed at Scott but it stung Elie. _You're not in love. You're 16 years old. You're a CHILD_. Those words were ringing in Elie's head and she felt so stupid for coming here. She bit down her lip.

Scott didn't retaliate and defend his feelings for Allison to Derek and instead he calmly said,

"Maybe you're right. But I know something you don't."

When Derek looked puzzled, Scott continued with his story.

"Peter said he didn't know what he was doing when he killed your sister, right?"

"He lied. Remember this?" asked Scott as he brought out a piece of paper. Elie couldn't see what it was but then again, she really didn't care right now.

"This is what brought your sister back to Beacon Hills, right?"

"Where did you get that?" asked Derek instead of answering Scott.

"My boss told me a few months ago that somebody came in asking for a copy of this picture. Do you wanna know who it was?" Derek didn't say anything so Scott continued to talk.

"Peter's nurse. They brought your sister here so that Peter could kill her and become the alpha. And that's why you're going to help me."

Derek didn't say anything. He looked calm but you could see his boiling rage in his eyes.

"Just say you'll help me and I'll help you unlike your…" Scott muttered as he turned his back to Derek when they heard a creak and then loud crash. Derek had freed himself and he growled,

"I'll help you."

#

On their way out, Elie picked up the hunter's baseball bat. It was not much of a weapon but she felt a little safer holding onto something. Scott gave her a look as if to ask what it was for, so Elie said,

"You have fangs, I don't." Scott shrugged and led Elie and Derek out of the dungeon. As the three of them walked out of the passage and into the woods just in front of the Hale house, Derek suddenly said,

"Hold on, hold on."

"What?"

After catching his breath, Derek said,

"Something doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno, it's kind like…it was…" said Derek but he was cut off mid-sentence by Scott.

"Oh, no! Don't say too easy! People say too easy and bad things happen." Derek rolled his eyes at Scott but he insisted.

"You think finding you was easy? Getting away from Allison's dad? None of this has been easy!"

"Fine, You're right…"

At that moment something flew past Elie's cheek and the next thing she saw was Derek stumbling down with arrow stuck in his chest.

"Derek!" Elie screamed as she ran towards him.

"Elie! No! Get down!" She heard Scott screaming from behind her and saw another arrow fly past and struck Derek's leg. When she got to him, Derek pulled her down to shield her with his body and warned Scott.

"Scott, your eyes!"

There was a blinding flash as another arrow hit one of the trees. Derek quickly sat up and pulled out the arrows. Elie ran across to Scott, who seemed to be struggling to get up.

"Get up, Scott, Get up!" Elie tried to get him to stand up but he was too heavy. Derek staggered towards them and helped Elie pull him towards the Hale house but after few steps, Derek fell and he threw Scott towards the house.

"Scott, Elie, GO!" yelled Derek from the ground. Elie looked back and saw Derek's pleading eyes. She tried to drag Scott away from the hunters and into the house but he fell.

"Come on Scott! We're nearly there!" said Elie as she tried to get him up. Instead of trying to get away, he was looking at something or someone behind them. When Elie looked back, she saw Allison walking towards them carrying a bow. As she got closer, Scott pushed Elie back. She staggered back and fell down as her foot was caught in something.

"Allison, I can explain,"

"Stop lying. For once stop lying."

"I was gonna tell you the truth after the formal. I was gonna tell you everything. Everything that I said, everything that I did…"

"Was to protect me?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe you."

"Thank GOD, now just shoot him before I have to shoot him myself." said the woman as she walked up towards Scott. Elie recognised her voice. _She was the one who answered Derek's phone!_

"You, you said we're just gonna catch them."

"We did that. Now we're going to kill them." said Kate and she shot Derek with her gun as she continued to advance towards them. Elie screamed. Ignoring her scream, she walked towards Scott.

"See? Not that hard," said the woman nonchalantly, as she waved around her gun. When Allison stared at her in horror, she said,

"Oh no, I now that look. It's the you're gonna have to do it yourself look." and aimed her gun at Scott.

"No!"

Elie screamed as she got on to her feet and ran towards Scott. She knelt down next to him and hugged him to shield him from the bullets. Scott was trying to push her away but she held on tightly. She was not going to lose Scott. Hanging onto Scott, Elie turned around and looked right at the gun Kate was aiming towards them.

"Kate, Kate, what are you doing?" Allison tried to pull her aunt back but she was pushed away and fell to the ground.

"I love those brown eyes. Now get out of the way you stupid girl." said Kate.

"Elie, don't!" Scott kept trying to push away from the gun's trajectory but Elie held on. She glared at the hunter and yelled,

"You'll have to kill me too, you psycho bitch!"

"Not a problem," said Kate and was about to pull the trigger when someone called out her name.

"Kate!"

It was Allison's dad. Shit! Elie swore under her breath as she held on to Scott. More fucking hunters! It was last thing she needed right now.

"I know what you did," said Allison's dad, and for a moment, Kate seemed a little flustered.

"Put the gun down."

Elie and Scott looked at Allison's dad, and at each other. Scott looked as confused as she was. But the gun was still pointed towards them so Elie held on.

"I was only doing what I was told to do." said Kate.

"No one asked you to murder innocent people. There were children in that house. Ones who were human…Look at what you're doing right now! You're holding a gun at a 16 year old boy with no proof that he spilt a human blood, and you're willing to kill a 16 year old girl for getting in the way. We go by the code. Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent."

When Kate refused to put the gun down and she was again about to pull the trigger, Allison's dad pointed the gun at his sister and said,

"Put the gun down," This time he shot at a tree behind her. Elie winced at the sound of gunshot.

"Before I bring you down." with that warning, Kate finally pointed the gun away from them. Both Scott and Elie took a deep breath out of relief but stopped when they heard the creak of a wooden door from behind them.

"Allison, get back!" Realising that something, or someone was in Hale house, Chris warned his daughter to get back. Scott quickly got up, and pushed Elie behind him. She felt the chill she had felt in that car park and she knew. Both Kate and Chris were pointing their guns towards the front of the house.

"What is it?" Allison asked as she took a few steps towards her aunt.

"It's the alpha." Scott growled.

Something ran out the building and before they could react, it began to blitz across them knocking down Chris, then Allison, Elie and Scott. Kate was left standing and she yelled,

"COME ON!"

Suddenly the alpha appeared in human form and grabbed Kate's arm, pulling it up as she pulled the trigger. He hit her arm and Elie winced as she heard the crunch of bone breaking. Kate screamed as the alpha grabbed her by the neck and threw her towards the house, and then quickly following her to drag her screaming and kicking into the house.

Elie stood up and saw Kate's gun lying around. _The bullet!_ She thought as she looked around for Derek. He was not where he was when he first fell. May be he's hiding…she thought. At that moment, Allison stood up and looked at the Hale house and screamed as she followed the alpha and her aunt into the house. Scott was struggling to get up but he also followed Allison into the house too. Holding Kate's gun, Elie yelled for Derek desperately in the dark. When she turned around, he was in front of her looking pale as he did the time she saw him the school car park.

"Here, the bullets should be in there. You'll be okay right?" Elie's hand was shaking as she handed it to Derek. Derek walked towards the house as he emptied the bullets onto the ground. He picked one up, took a bite to drain the powder on to the wooden floor. He grabbed a lighter from his jacket pocket to light it on fire and in hale the fumes.

"Elie, stay outside okay?" he said as he entered the house.

"No! Scott's in there! I'm coming…" Elie was about to follow him when he turned around, gently grabbed Elie by the shoulders and quietly repeated,

"Stay."

She knew she'd only get in the way and she also knew that he would help Scott. Despite what he had said back in the dungeon. So she nodded and took a step back. When he was sure that she wouldn't follow him, he stepped into the house.

She was waiting outside not knowing what to do when she suddenly heard loud crashing noises and saw Allison run out. She had been crying.

"Allison! What's going on?"

"That, that monster killed my aunt!"

"Yeah, but what's happening to Scott and Derek!"

"They're fighting him!"

Allison ran to her father, who had passed out when he was knocked down by the alpha. Suddenly they heard the window shatter and saw Scott flying out of the house. He was still on the ground when he was followed by the alpha, who was no longer in his human form. The alpha growled as he picked up Scott but then, Scott kicked him away. At that moment, they heard a loud car horn, and Elie saw her brother standing by a car, throwing something at the alpha.

The alpha just caught it and howled at Stiles. Realising that Stiles had thrown the homemade Molotov cocktail, Scott threw the bow at Allison and he yelled out her name. Just as the alpha was about to throw it away, Allison quickly aimed and shot at the bottle, which shattered in the alpha's hand and immediately flared up so that the alpha's arm was covered in flames. When Jackson threw the second bottle at the alpha, he was completely engulfed in flames. He was staggering towards Allison when Scott ran towards him and kicked away. The alpha took a few steps away from them as the flame gradually died down, but fell over, covered in severe burns. Allison quickly walked towards Scott, and Elie ran towards her brother, who seemed shocked to find her here.

There were questions they wanted to ask each other, but for now, knowing that the alpha is down was enough and the twins hugged each other tightly.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked his sister.

"Are you okay?" Elie answered with a question.

The twins looked up when they heard Scott yell out.

"Wait!" Scott was yelling at Derek who was kneeling over the charred body of his uncle.

"You said that the cure comes from the one who bit you. Derek! If you do this, I'm dead. Her father and her family? What am I supposed to do?" Scott desperately pleaded. For a moment, Derek seemed to hesitate when the alpha growled,

"You….have…already…decided. I CAN SMELL IT ON YOU!"

Instead of answering his uncle, Derek raised his clawed hands high above his head and brought it down as Scott yelled in the background.

Derek stood up, and turned around. His eyes were glowing red.

"I'm the alpha now." 

**A/N: One more chapter to go! Thanks for reading and reviewing you lovely readers! :)**


	17. Teenage Wasteland 16

**Epilogue**

So Derek killed his uncle and became the new alpha. Elie wondered if the Hale House Arson had driven Peter to murder or being the alpha made him one, and whether Derek would inherit his uncle's homicidal tendency now that he was the new alpha. She hadn't seen him since that night so she wasn't sure.

Lydia was in stable condition but still in the hospital. When they sneaked in to check up on her, her wound wasn't healing which meant that she hadn't turned into a werewolf. It made them wonder why she was immune to the bite.

The front page of the local newspaper was plastered with the news about Kate Argent being responsible for the Hale House Arson. Despite Scott being a werewolf, Scott and Allison were still together. Elie was kind of happy about that because, as Stiles had said, Allison was like an anchor for Scott. She made him happy.

Elie later found out that_ Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent _meant "we hunt those who hunt us." This meant that as long as Scott didn't try to kill anyone, the hunters won't hunt him down like Kate did. So basically, for the time being no one was trying kill them and for Elie, that was good enough.

She increased her shift down at the diner because she really wanted her own means of transport. Not being able to get to places by herself and always relying on others was frustrating. Buying a car was difficult with her budget, but she would soon be able to afford a motorcycle. Elie was eyeing for a perfect moment to bring this up at home because she knew her father would be against it and say that it was too dangerous. So she figured she would just tell him after the purchase.

After finishing her shift at the diner, she was sitting at one of the tables with a cup of coffee, waiting for her brother to pick her up. She was flipping through motorcycle magazine when someone coughed. When she looked up, Derek was standing over her, to her surprise.

"Um…hello?" Elie was startled and felt awkward because she hadn't seen him since that night. He smiled briefly and sat down in front of her.

"You dropped this, the other night." said Derek as he brought something out of his pocket and put it on the table. It was one of Elie's earrings that she wore to the formal. She had no idea where she'd lost it so she hadn't even bothered to look for it.

Elie smiled and picked it up. It was just a cheap faux stone chandelier earring from Forever 21 that she had bought a while ago for a party, but now it somehow felt more special.

"Thank you." said Elie as she put it in her pocket.

"I have to thank you too. I didn't get to say it the other night."

"For what?" Elie looked up in surprise. Derek grinned and said,

"Coming to my rescue."

"Ah…well, you kinda managed to break free on your own and Scott turned up anyway…so…you know I really didn't do anything." Now that she thought about it she kind of felt stupid.

However, Derek looked straight into Elie's eyes and said,

"Well I appreciate it. So thank you."

Elie didn't know what to say so she just sheepishly smiled and said,

"You're welcome."

Derek smiled and when she realised that that his eyes were smiling too and it wasn't one of those 'being polite' smile he had first showed her the night he came into the diner, her heart skipped a beat and she began to feel a surge of happiness.

"I have to go, but I'll see you around Elie," said Derek as he stood up. Elie just nodded and waved at him.

What she had with Derek might not be as solid as Scott and Allison, it was probably more similar to what Stiles had with Lydia; in fact she was pretty sure that whatever this was, it was one-sided. But for now, she was happy.

She was happy every time he said her name.

She was happy that he found her earring and brought it back for her when he didn't have to.

She was happy that he didn't think she was stupid for coming to find him.

She was happy that he said 'see you around' instead of 'goodbye.'

She was happy that he'd genuinely smiled at her.

She knew that this might only be a silly teenage crush, and she wasn't sure what she was feeling was love yet but she was happy.

**END**

* * *

**A/N: This is the end of season 1! Thank you for reading and reviewing my first ever story! I loved writing this and I am currently thinking of doing season 2 with Elie.**

**A huge thank you to everyone who read my story**

**…but special thanks to;**

**(IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)**

emily

Erudessa-gabrielle

FizzWizz2011

Gamerkid137

Hance

Kallie

lilnemzy

LunaLovegood'sBestFriend

mgaleaz8

msspicyjalapeno

Owloveu

PsychoticSmartypants

Regin

sarah0406

SilverAdvenger12

Terra-Fair

The Things You Wish You Knew

winchesterxgirl

wolviegurl

and the anonymous guests who left comments on 24th July.

**It was your kind comments that gave me the confidence to keep writing, so thank you!**


	18. NOTICE Teenage Wasteland Halloween SP

Hi Guys,

I've just published Teenage Wasteland Halloween Special as a separate story instead of adding on to this one.

There's only prologue at the moment but I'll post the first chapter asap...

I hope you enjoy it!

xx

cherrybomb


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